Dereliction of Duty
by charli911
Summary: They treated it as a joke, but Tony wasn't laughing. An alt ending to Dead Air. This is what we wish would have happened in the show. Strong Tony and Gibbs friendship, McGee and Ziva bashing. Don't like, don't read. You've been warned, so don't leave reviews about how mean we are to Tim and Ziva.
1. Chapter 1

DERELICTION OF DUTY

By Charli911 and Larabeelady

**Chapter 1**

Tony DiNozzo couldn't believe what he'd just heard. His fellow agents, his 'backup' hadn't been listening to him while he went house to house in the neighborhood, trying to get the residents' voices on tape to compare with the voice they had on file for their suspect. Their 'terrorist' suspect!

"Oh, look, McGee, we finally found a way to shut him up," Ziva David teased.

"Too bad we didn't think of this earlier," Tim McGee replied. "Sure would have made for a quieter stakeout." Both laughed.

"How long?" DiNozzo asked softly, still in shock.

"How long what, Tony? How long did you ramble? Seemed like hours," Ziva replied. "How long have we had to tolerate this inane behavior from you? Seems like years."

"It has been years, Ziva," McGee reminded her.

"Oh, yes, so it has," she grinned. "But, to answer your question, I believe it was about an hour."

"I think it was actually closer to two hours, Ziva," Tim remarked, laughing.

"Ah yes, you are probably correct. Although it seems a much shorter time that we were able to enjoy the silence. Pity you did not stay out there longer, Tony," she said, joining in the laughter once again.

Tony leaned back in the seat, shaking his head. He turned to look out the window, not noticing that McGee had started the engine and pulled the car away from the curb. He barely heard the animated and almost celebratory conversation going on in the front seat. They had traveled a couple of miles, when he realized he needed to get out of the vehicle.

"Stop the car, McGee," he ordered.

"What? Tony, I'm not stopping. It's late, I'd like to get back to the office and get the paperwork done for the day."

"Stop. The Damn. Car."

McGee sighed. "Fine." He jerked the wheel and got the car to the curb, slamming on the brakes. "We're stopped," he said, snidely.

Tony threw open the door and headed for a nearby trashcan, where he promptly vomited the lunch he'd eaten several of hours before. McGee and David stepped out of the vehicle, somewhat concerned that their fellow agent appeared to be ill.

"Tony, are you alright?" Ziva asked.

But DiNozzo didn't reply. He stood up, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief. Looking around, he spotted what he needed and began walking down the sidewalk.

"Tony, where are you going?" McGee asked. When the other man didn't stop, McGee called out. "Come on, Tony, quit playing games! I want to get back to the office."

Both were shocked when DiNozzo ignored them, climbed into a cab, and left.

"What the hell...?"

"McGee, where is he going?"

"I have no clue, but I'm not waiting for him to come back," McGee declared. "Let's go. If he wants to pout, he can do it on his own time."

Ziva nodded and followed Tim back to the agency sedan.

/

Gibbs stepped back into the bullpen just as DiNozzo got off the elevator. McGee and David were sitting at their desks, both seemingly engrossed in whatever was on their computer monitors. Tony moved over to his own desk and sat down, not sparing a glance at any of them.

"How did it go?" Gibbs asked of no one in particular.

Several long seconds went by, before Ziva tentatively replied. "It was fine, Gibbs. No problems."

When both David and McGee glanced toward Tony, as if waiting for him to contradict her, Gibbs figured something was up. None of them appeared injured, but when DiNozzo made no attempt to agree or disagree, in fact made no comment at all, Gibbs wondered what had occurred between the three that would cause his most vocal agent to keep quiet.

"DiNozzo, any problems?" Out of the corner of his eye, Gibbs noticed McGee tense up. Now he knew something was going on. He just wondered how long it would take him to get to the bottom of whatever the problem was.

"I got the recordings without a problem. I just spoke to Abby, she's getting everything set up to do the voice recognition. There's almost four hours of recordings, so it'll take a while." Tony spoke all this without lifting his head from his keyboard and with absolutely no animation in his voice at all, which was highly unusual for the normally effervescent young man.

"Alright. Head on home," Gibbs ordered. "Nothing more we can do at the moment."

McGee and Ziva quickly closed down their computers and grabbed their gear, then headed toward the elevator, neither noticing that Tony hadn't even bothered to look up and watch them leave.

But Gibbs noticed. It was hard not to. He didn't like it when DiNozzo got like this. As much as he often hated it when DiNozzo acted like the college frat boy he used to be, at least that was normal. A quiet and introspective DiNozzo wasn't normal and did not bode well.

Gibbs moved to stand in front of Tony's desk. "DiNozzo, did you hear me? Go get something to eat and get some sleep."

"I'd rather get this down while it's still fresh in my mind," he answered.

"It's late."

"It won't take me long."

Gibbs sighed. "An hour. Get your notes down, and then grab some sleep."

Tony just nodded, having never even looked up at his boss, and continued typing.

/

Two days later, Gibbs was walking down the stairs from MTAC and noticed DiNozzo at his desk. Checking his watch, he discovered that it was still an hour before the younger man's shift was supposed to start. He'd told the group to come in late that morning, since the terrorist case had been wrapped up late the night before. As he walked toward his team's area, he glanced over the partition and noticed that Tony was on the NCIS internal website.

He stopped. DiNozzo was looking at job openings.

"Going somewhere, DiNozzo?" he asked, leaning on the partition behind Tony's desk. He wasn't at all surprised when his Senior Field Agent didn't so much as jump at the unexpected voice behind him and totally expected to hear the same disclaimer of 'just keeping my options open, boss' that he usually did in circumstances like this.

He was, therefore, shocked to hear a quiet, "Maybe."

Gibbs moved around into the bullpen and sat on the edge of DiNozzo's desk. "What's going on, Tony?"

Tony briefly closed his eyes and when he looked up, the pain in his eyes caused Gibbs to briefly rock back.

"I need to talk to you, boss," he said.

"So. Talk."

Tony looked around. Although it was still early, several agents were on the floor, at the other end of the large room. He didn't want to have this conversation here. "Ah, in private." Troubled, Gibbs stood and moved toward the elevator, better known as 'Gibbs' office', but DiNozzo stopped him. "This will take a while. Might be best not to tie up the elevator."

Gibbs stared at him for several long seconds before nodding and leading the way to one of the smaller conference rooms. Tony picked up a file from his desk, hesitating before grabbing another from the bottom drawer, then followed his boss. Tony closed the door behind him and sat down, placing both files on the desk in front of him. Gibbs sat across from him after filling up a mug with some of the strong, bitter brew from the coffee urn on the credenza under the window.

Taking a sip, he took a good look at his agent. DiNozzo looked exhausted, like he hadn't slept at all the night before. Combined with the atypical behavior of the past couple days, Gibbs was concerned. Rather than growling an order to begin talking he prompted with a quiet, "Are you alright, DiNozzo?"

Tony sighed deeply, his eyes resting on the files, both hands splayed out across the paper. "I'm tired, but otherwise fine. I had a couple of restless nights."

"Do those files have anything to do with your restless nights?" Gibbs asked, gesturing with his cup at the files.

After a brief hesitation, Tony nodded. "I debated long and hard last night whether or not to do this. On one hand, since everything turned out okay, I thought: just let it go. On the other hand, as a Senior Field Agent, what happened couldn't be allowed to be swept under the rug and ignored completely. If I let it go, it could have serious repercussions later on down the road." He fingered the corners of the top file folder nervously. "I went back and forth with myself, but in the end I realized that no matter what happens to me, I couldn't, in good conscience, let it slide."

"Does this have anything to do with why you've been so quiet the last couple of days?"

Tony closed his eyes and nodded again. "Yeah. I wanted to say something to you the day it happened, but decided to wait until the case was over and we caught the guy. I didn't want this to interfere with the case."

"You're scaring me here, DiNozzo," Gibbs said, leaning forward and wrapping both hands around his coffee mug. "What the hell happened? It was something to do with the last case I take it?"

Tony just nodded and picked up the top file. He slid it across the table, but didn't release it right away. Gibbs reached to pick it up, but waited the few seconds it took for Tony to decide to let it go. The former Marine pulled the file closer to him, watching the competing emotions racing across DiNozzo's face, dreading what he was about to read, knowing it had to be bad if it was causing such conflict in his Senior Agent.

He flipped open the file, the quiet slap of the folder hitting the desk causing his agent to flinch. The words at the top of the page jumped out at him. 'Report of Dereliction of Duty'.

"What the hell? DiNozzo, what is this?" he asked, the document inside being the last thing he expected. A request for transfer, official letter of complaint, hell even a letter of resignation wouldn't have shocked him more than this. His eyes read the words, but he wasn't sure if his brain was actually making the connection. Ziva and McGee turned off the speaker they were supposed to be monitoring? They were Tony's backup. What if something had happened? What if DiNozzo had been hurt? What if...? What if?

Tony stood up, pacing while his boss read the file. He really had been up all night, wondering if he was doing the right thing. McGee and Ziva were good agents and he didn't think either of them would have done this if it hadn't been him on the other end of the line. And he was honest with himself, he knew he could get annoying at times, with his constant talking about movies and women. But he tried to never let it interfere with his job. He was serious when he needed to be and he would never fail to back up a partner in the field. And if they would do it to him, they could do it to someone else they might find annoying. And he couldn't allow it to go unchecked. He'd let too much go already, brushed off too much.

"DiNozzo, are you sure you heard this correctly?"

Tony was facing away from Gibbs, staring out the window, so his boss didn't see the brief look of defeated acceptance that crossed his face. But Gibbs saw the tense shoulders slump and knew that he'd said exactly the wrong thing. He moved quickly to correct himself.

"Tony, I'm not saying it didn't happen. I just need to know if those were their exact words."

"As best as I can remember, yes," Tony replied, turning around to face his mentor, a bit of hope coming back at Gibbs' words. "I can get the exact wording if I listen to the recording again. My mic was still on when I got back into the car."

"Okay. Once Abby gets in, I want you to get on this right away. See if she can make a copy of just that part of the tape for you. She should still have everything available after doing the voice recognition yesterday. Think you could get a transcript to me by zero nine hundred?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I can do that. Boss...thanks. I wasn't sure..."

Gibbs stood up and walked over to stand next to the agent who'd been on his team for nearly ten years. "Tony...you have never lied to me." At the look on DiNozzo's face, he knew what the younger man was about to say. He raised a hand to silence any remark he was about the make. "Not even during the Frog investigation. You were ordered not to say anything, and besides, that investigation began while you were the team leader. You were right not to say anything. And as much as I would have liked to have been in the loop on that operation, if only to give you adequate backup, I understand why you didn't tell me. You, Anthony DiNozzo, have never lied to me. I know that you're not lying about this, and I do plan to do something about it. And just so you know, I'll need to bring the Director in on this."

Tony leaned, half sitting, against the credenza, hands wrapped around the edge and shifted his glance to the floor. He nodded, knowing that for anything official to happen, Leon Vance would have to get involved. He didn't like it, but it was inevitable…and necessary.

"It's not gonna be pretty. McGee is still his golden-boy. He's not gonna want to hear about his protégé screwing up like this. And Ziva...you know he's good friends with her father."

"That's why I want the transcript with the exact wording used by both. After I get that, I'll speak to them and see what they have to say before I talk to Vance. He's not in the office this morning anyway, since there's an appropriations committee meeting at the Pentagon. So that'll give me some time to get statements from McGee and David and decide how to proceed. But know this, Tony. I will not let this slide. This is a gross violation of agency policy, not to mention a breach of trust. They had a job to do and they failed to do it. And if you hadn't brought this to my attention, and I'd learned about it from someone else, I would have questioned whether you should still be a Senior Field Agent."

Tony smiled. The load that had been weighing him down was suddenly gone. Gibbs slapped him lightly on the back of the head. "I could use some better coffee," he told his subordinate. "Feel like making a run?"

"Be happy to," Tony replied. "I'll get Abby's morning Caf-Pow while I'm out, too."

"Good man."

Tony headed for the door, his step noticeably lighter than they had been when he entered the room. His hand on the door knob, he turned back around. "Gibbs. I was thinking..."

"Dangerous ground there, DiNozzo," he joked with a smile tugging at his lips.

Tony's grin got bigger. "Yeah, you could be right about that. But, I'd bet that McGee approaches you before you have a chance to corner him."

Gibbs nodded. "I wouldn't be surprised. I hope he does. I hope they both do. It would go a long way in determining what their punishment will be if they realize what they did wrong before I have to tell them. Have you said anything to either of them?"

DiNozzo shook his head. "No. After I asked them how long they hadn't been listening and they joked about whether it was one or two hours, I kind of just didn't say anything at all. I was too shocked to say anything. In fact, I got out of the car and took a cab back to the office. After I threw up my lunch in the closest trash can."

"I wondered why you were so pale when you got into the office that evening. You sure you'll be okay to work today? I can have McGee and David go over the tapes."

"No, I'm good. I have some notes that I want to add to the report anyway."

Gibbs smiled and shook his head. "Thorough as usual, DiNozzo. And that is one of the many reasons that I offered you the job in the first place." He slapped Tony on the back with the file folder, only then realizing that the second folder still sat on the desk. "By the way, what's in the other folder?"

Tony turned around and pulled the door closed again, leaning against it. "I...I wasn't sure if you'd believe me about what happened yesterday," he admitted. "You know that I often make notes throughout the year, to help me when I do yearly evals." Gibbs nodded. "Those are some notes that I've made this year, more minor incidents of failure to obey orders, arguing about orders and the like. Nothing big, but more of a pattern of problems. I generally took care of the issues myself when they occurred, but was going to note them on the evals and maybe suggest some classes or remedial training."

"Both of them?"

Tony nodded. "More Ziva than McGee, but yeah, both of them to some extent. I want to address it now. McGee is getting to the point where he could make a good Senior Field Agent for some team. But this...Damn it, Gibbs! I don't want this to hurt his chances for promotion, but it's becoming a pattern...and that crap the other day..."

He stopped when Gibbs landed a hand on his shoulder. "Tony, you can only do so much. I'll look these over and talk to both of them today. You plan to spend the day in the lab. If Abby doesn't have a problem with it, do your report down there today. Once I talk to McGee and David, you may get some backlash. I want to know about it if that happens, are we clear?"

"Clear, Gibbs. I'd better go make that coffee run now. The stuff in the pot over there," he said pointing to the urn on the credenza, "is not nearly up to Gibbs' standards on a good day. And this is not looking to be a good day at all. Don't want the boss man going postal on me," he said with a cheeky grin, lightening the mood in the room.

"Get outta here," Gibbs snarled affectionately, but with the requisite head slap.

"Right, back in a bit," he chuckled.

Gibbs watched him go, closing the door behind him, before moving back to the desk and picking up the other file. Reluctant to open it up and see just what he'd missed over the last year, he picked up his coffee cup and decided to get a refill first, figuring he'd need the strong stuff to fortify himself for the confrontations with his junior agents. He took a sip, agreeing with DiNozzo's remark about the quality of the brew. But it would have to do until Tony returned with something better from the local coffee shop.

He settled back into a chair and pulled the second file closer. Flipping it open, he began to read.

/


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

Twenty minutes later, DiNozzo walked back into the bullpen. He noticed that McGee was at his desk, but Ziva hadn't made it in yet. Glancing at his watch, he noticed that she still had nearly half an hour before she was due.

"Morning, Tony," McGee greeted him.

"McGee."

"Have you...ah... have you see Gibbs?"

"Yes."

When Tony didn't elaborate, McGee opened his mouth, then changed his mind, and directed his attention back to his computer screen. DiNozzo shook his head, then took pity on the younger agent.

"Last I saw him he was in conference room three. Here, you can take these to him," he offered, holding out two large cups of coffee.

McGee stood up and took both cups from Tony, but before he could say more, the Senior Field Agent turned on his heels and headed back to the elevator. For several seconds, Tim stood in the middle of the bullpen, dreading the upcoming conversation he planned to have with his boss, but at the same time, knowing that he had to have it.

Taking a deep breath, he squared his shoulders and strode off down the hallway, trying to look like he had more confidence than he really did at that moment. Reaching the closed door of the conference room, he shifted both cups to one hand, then raised the other to knock, hesitating only a second before steeling himself and rapping on the door.

"Enter!" came the growl from behind the door.

Reaching down for the knob, Tim slipped inside, making sure the door closed completely behind him. He didn't need anyone else overhearing the humiliating confession he planned to make.

Gibbs looked up, both grateful to see McGee there of his own accord and angry that the conversation had to take place at all.

"Boss, can I talk to you?"

"Something on your mind, McGee?" Gibbs leaned back in his chair, closing the file in front of him, and turning over the pad he'd been making notes on.

McGee began to fidget, before realizing that he still held the coffees in his hand, idly wondering why Tony bought two large cups. "Oh, here, Tony asked me to give these to you."

Gibbs took the offerings with a nod, setting one on the table, waiting for McGee to continue. When he didn't, Gibbs took a long drink from the cup still in his hand, then set it down as well. "Was that all, McGee?"

"Ah, no, boss. I…ah...well, it's about the stakeout we did the other day, when Tony was going door to door..." he began, stopping again when he wasn't sure what to say.

"Spit it out, McGee! I don't have all day!"

"Right, right. We...I, ah...we...Ziva and I screwed up, Boss," he finally blurted out.

"How so?"

"When.. Ah, when we were on the stakeout, listening to Tony while he got all those voice recordings, we...well, we turnedoffthesound," he said, rushing the last bit to get it passed his quickly closing throat.

Gibbs didn't reply right away, instead reaching for his coffee again and taking a couple of long drinks as he watched the younger agent nervously rock back and forth.

"You turned off the sound? So, the conversations weren't being recorded?"

"NO! YES! Oh, ah, they were. The recording was still going on," McGee tried to reassure him. "We just turned it down so that we didn't have to listen to him ramble on. Everything was still being recorded." McGee felt a degree of guilt leave him, as he felt that Gibbs was more concerned that they hadn't gotten the information they were sent out there to get in the first place.

"Are you sure about that, Agent McGee?"

"Boss?"

"Did you listen to the tapes? Are you sure everything got recorded?"

"Well, ah, yes I think so?"

"You think, McGee?" The younger agent nearly turned and ran at the icy glare sent his way.

"I...I guess...I won't know for sure...until we listen to the tapes, Boss."

"You mean that _DiNozzo_ won't know for sure, because apparently he's the only one who heard everything and he's the only one who would know if something was missed."

"Ah, well, yeah, Boss, I ..ah...well, um..."

"You want to explain to me why you and Agent David violated Agency policy and put your teammate's life in danger like that, Agent McGee?"

"Danger?" McGee barely kept himself from scoffing. "Tony wasn't really in any danger. I mean, he was just talking...and talking...and talking," McGee commented, forgetting for a moment just why he was in this room.

"So, DiNozzo was doing his job, engaging everyone in conversation, getting a good sample of all the suspects' voices on the recording."

"Well, yeah, I guess."

"You guess?"

"Yes, Boss, that's what Agent DiNozzo was doing," he said, pulling himself up to stand straighter.

"And what were you and Agent David supposed to be doing while DiNozzo was engaging the suspects?"

"Ah, we were supposed to be listening."

"Why?"

"Boss?"

"Why were you supposed to be listening, McGee?"

"Ah, to see if we heard anything suspicious?"

"Is that a question, Agent?" Gibbs growled.

"Ah, no, boss."

Gibbs picked up the first cup and finished off the coffee, standing up to toss the empty in the trash. Returning to his chair, he sat back down, looked at the file containing Tony's report of the incident from the day before. Turning back to McGee, he lifted a hand and thoughtfully rubbed it across his chin.

The he slammed the same hand down onto the hard surface of the conference table, causing the younger agent to take a stumbling step back.

"Wrong, McGee! Your job was backup! Your job was to watch DiNozzo's six! Your job...was to protect your partner! And you failed to do that! You failed the most fundamental job an agent has! To protect!"

McGee paled and he wished that he could sit down, as his knees suddenly didn't feel like they would continue to hold him up. But that was not an option due to how angry Gibbs was. And McGee had to admit, he had every right to be that angry.

"There is only one thing that is saving your ass...and your job...right now, Agent McGee."

"Sir...ah sorry, Gibbs."

"The fact that you came here on your own to admit your mistake."

"You mean Tony didn't say anything?" McGee asked, not sure if he was surprised by that fact or not.

"Are you saying the only reason you told me about your dereliction of duty is because you were afraid DiNozzo would rat you out?" Gibbs glare got even colder and McGee hadn't thought that was possible, since it was already in the vicinity of arctic.

"No, Boss, no. I would have said something anyway. I...I thought about it a lot last night. About what might have happened to Tony if...if one of those people had been the suspect and realized who Tony was." McGee sighed. "And I realized that Tony would never have done that to me."

"You're right about that, McGee. DiNozzo, for all his joking around, would never fail to back up his partner. You do realize that this will need to be reported to the Director?"

McGee briefly closed his eyes. He had hoped that Gibbs would deal with it himself. He knew it would likely go on his record though and Vance had access to that, and he was the Director after all. _Well, I guess there goes being on Vance's good side,_ he thought. _Then again, Vance didn't like Tony, didn't think he was a good agent, so maybe he won't make a big deal of it. Oh, who the hell am I kidding? Like Gibbs said, this was a major violation of policy. _

"...listening to me, Agent McGee?!"

Tim jumped, just then noticing that Gibbs had moved and was only a foot in front of him, yelling into his face. If he hadn't known before what kind of Marine Gibbs had been, this was ample demonstration of "The Gunny".

"Yes, Gibbs. Sorry...no, not sorry...well, I am but..."

"Shut it, McGee!" Gibbs wanted to reach out and head slap McGee, but he was so angry right now, he was afraid he'd knock him unconscious. "Get your ass back to your desk. I want your report on your violation on my desk in thirty minutes!"

"Yes, Gibbs!" McGee spun around and opened the door.

"And McGee." Tim looked back at his boss. "Not a word to anyone else, anyone. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Gibbs. I won't say a word." As he moved again to leave, he thought about something else. "Ah, Gibbs, is it alright to tell Tony...well, to let him know that I know that I screwed up?"

"All in good time, McGee. For now, nothing to anyone."

McGee nodded and hurried out the door before Gibbs started yelling again. When he got back to his desk, he noticed that Ziva had just arrived.

"Morning, McGee," she called.

"Ah, morning, Ziva," Tim mumbled in reply as he settled behind his desk and powered up his computer.

"Where is everyone?"

"Ah, Gibbs is in the conference room. Not sure where Tony went," he replied, not looking up, since he was afraid he'd spill everything if he looked at her.

"Do we have another case?" she asked.

"Ah, no, not that I'm aware of."

Ziva narrowed her eyes. McGee was acting...what was the word? Something about a rodent...ah, yes...squirrelly. He began typing very quickly and appeared to be avoiding looking at her. That made her suspicious. Not the typing bit, but the not-looking-at-her bit. It was like he was afraid to make eye contact. She moved closer, determined to find out the reason.

"McGee?" she asked, drawing out his name.

"Yes, Ziva?" he replied, still not so much as even glancing her way.

"Is something wrong?"

"No! No, what could be wrong?! I just...I really need to get this done quickly."

"Get what done?"

"This report...my report on our last case...Gibbs wants it in..." he glanced at his watch.."in twenty-five minutes."

"I thought you did your report last night."

"Oh, ah, I did. This is something else that he wanted me to add."

"What?"

"Ziva, I really can't ...I just need to get this done," he said, hoping she wouldn't press the issue, although he was sure she would.

"McGee, is Gibbs still in the conference room?"

Tim looked up to find Tony moving past his desk, a sheet of paper and a CD in his hand.

"Yes, Tony."

Nothing further was said as DiNozzo moved past both junior agents and headed back down to the conference room, not even acknowledging Ziva's presence. When McGee glanced over at Ziva, she was watching Tony and he could almost see her thoughts running through her head.

"What is going on, McGee? Are we not a team? Why am I being kept in the dark?"

"I suggest you go ask them," he suggested.

"I will," she declared as she stomped past his desk, much to his relief, and followed the Senior Field Agent down the hall. He began typing again, determined to finish his addendum before she returned so she couldn't ask any more questions.

/

Tony pulled the door closed and walked over to the table, sitting down across from Gibbs. "Transcripts and an audio copy of that part of the recording, Boss." When his boss just nodded and reached out a hand to take both items, Tony continued. "So, did McGee confess?" he asked with a smile.

Gibbs nodded. "He did. Although I'm still not sure he really understands why what he did was wrong!"

"What do you mean?"

Before Gibbs could answer, the door opened again and Ziva David stepped through the door.

"Agent David, did they not teach you manners in Mossad?" Gibbs growled.

The probationary agent hesitated slightly at the angry question. "Ah, yes, Gibbs, but I thought that Tony had some information about the case and thought I would be needed."

"Well, you're not needed at the moment, so go back to your desk and double-check your report from last night, make sure it's complete." He then turned his attention back to the paper in his hand.

Ziva, shocked at the curt dismissal, looked between the two men for several long seconds, before she turned on her heel and pushed back out the door, shutting it loudly behind her. She stood there for several seconds, wondering why the two men were being so secretive. She'd noticed a couple of files on the desk in front of Gibbs, plus a CD of some kind in a case.

So, if McGee wasn't aware of what they were doing, or was ordered not to tell, as she suspected, then she'd just go to another source. Instead of heading to her desk as ordered, she turned the other way, pushing through the stairwell door and jogging down the stairs to Abby's Lab.

/

Back in the room, Gibbs frowned at Ziva's loud departure, then looked up at Tony. "Add that one to your list," he stated.

"Actually, Boss, that not really a violation of any kind." At Gibbs' looked, he added, "But I'll make a note anyway." Reaching for a pen, he pulled the second file closer and opened it up to the last page. Jotting down the date and time, he spoke what he wrote, "rudely entered room without knocking, then slammed door on exiting the room after being ordered back to her desk by Lead Agent Gibbs."

Closing the file once again, he pushed it back toward Gibbs and put his pen back into his pocket, then sat back while his boss finished reading the transcript.

Gibbs shook his head and tossed the paper down in disgust. "I think some remedial training and possibly a dock in pay might be in both their futures!"

"Boss, do you really..."

"Don't say it, DiNozzo! This is a major violation!"

"I don't think they would have done it to anyone but me."

"Then why did you bother reporting it?" Gibbs challenged him.

They stared at each other for a long minute before Tony dropped his gaze. "Because, I couldn't be absolutely sure it wouldn't happen again."

"You couldn't be sure it wouldn't happen to another agent. It shouldn't have happened to _you_! Tony, you did the right thing. I know you didn't want to and I know you think it's gonna make things more difficult...and it might in the short term. But it needed to be done. I think McGee will be okay with whatever punishment the Director and I decide on. Ziva will be more difficult."

"You got that right," Tony huffed.

Gibbs reached over and tapped his hand to the side of DiNozzo's head. "You are my Senior Field Agent. You will continue in that position until _you_ decide to move on. As far as I'm concerned, you can stay on my team until I retire and hand the reins over to you-properly next time," he commented with a smile. "And if Ziva David can't deal with that, she is welcome to transfer to another team."

That blunt, straight-forward statement was all that Tony DiNozzo needed to cement in his own mind how his boss felt about him. He smiled and leaned back in his chair, assured that the former Marine had his back.

/


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

Ziva walked into Abby's lab, wincing at the volume of the noise that Abby considered music.

"Abby," she called. When she got no response, she spoke louder. "Abby!"

The other woman spun around, then frowned. "What do you want?" she snarled, turning back to her machines.

Ziva almost took a step back at Abby's unusually hostile greeting. "Is something wrong, Abby?"

"If you don't know, then I am not going to tell you!" Abby had listened to the tape as she made the copy of the conversation for Tony to give to Gibbs, and it pissed her off that Ziva and Tim would do that to Tony. Even Abby knew that what they had done was wrong and why.

At the lack of a definitive answer from the scientist, Ziva got angry. "Why is everyone being so secretive?!" She moved closer to Abby. "First McGee will not tell me why he is re-writing a report that he completed last night. Then Tony and Gibbs kicked me out of the conference room, refusing to tell me what is going on!"

"Maybe they expect you to figure it out on your own! Now get out of my lab!" she order, turning back to her computer.

"Not until you tell me what is going on!" Ziva declared, hands on hips.

Abby angrily spun back around, glaring at the Israeli. "How dare you! Get out, before I call security!"

Ziva growled, but spun on her heels and stormed from the room. She bypassed the elevator and slammed open the stairwell door, racing back up the stairs. The team was being secretive and they all appeared to be angry with her for some reason. She briefly debated going to Vance, wondering if she could use her father's friendship with the Director to force answers, but quickly discarded that notion, knowing it would only serve to anger Gibbs even more than he already was.

As she walked past the conference room door again, she reached for the doorknob, but stopped herself before she could open the door, then decided to go back to her desk. As she walked back in the bullpen, she glanced over at McGee, who was standing by the printer, waiting for pages to finish printing. She silently moved closer, determined to grab the papers from the other agent's hand, in order to discover what everyone else was hiding from her.

Her movements were stopped when Gibbs entered the bullpen, DiNozzo close behind him.

"Gear up, we have a body," Gibbs declared, as he and Tony removed their weapons from their desks, slipping them into their holsters. McGee and Ziva did the same. She watched as McGee gave the papers he'd printed out to Gibbs, who slipped them into one of the files he held in his hand, then locked the files in his desk.

Her interest was piqued even further and she vowed to get to the bottom of the situation when they returned.

/

The team returned to the Navy Yard two hours later after discovering that the dead body was actually a civilian dressed in military surplus camos but not connected to the military and turning the scene over to the local police. Gibbs unlocked his desk, slipping his gun back into his lockbox and pulling out the files he'd put there earlier.

Settling into his chair, he opened up the top file, reading over the papers that McGee had given him just before they'd headed out. Ziva watched him as she turned on her computer, catching the clenched jaw and the shaking of his head. She glanced over at McGee, who was watching Gibbs and nervously fidgeting in his chair. Wanting answers, Ziva stood up and moved over to Gibbs' desk. Two minutes later, she still stood there, her patience rapidly slipping away. After putting his signature at the bottom of the page, Gibbs finally looked up.

"Something you need, Agent David?"

"I demand to know why everyone is being so secretive this morning?" she snarled. "What are you hiding from me?" She didn't flinch, although she probably should have, when Gibbs' somewhat uninterested glance turned into an arctic glare.

"Demand? You demand? Who do you think you are?" he growled. "And why would you think we are hiding anything from you, Agent David?" She was slightly taken aback with his continued use of her surname, unusual for him, but it didn't dissuade her from continuing.

"Because no one will answer my questions about what is going on this morning! McGee re-writing his report! You and Tony in the conference room, going over something that you refuse to include me in, Abby hostile and also refusing to answer questions..."

"And just when did you speak to Abby?" Gibbs asked.

"This morning, of course."

"Before or after I ordered you back to your desk to finish your report?"

Ziva didn't reply, realizing that if she did, she would have to admit to disobeying a direct order from her supervisor. She turned and moved back over to her desk, sitting down and pulling her chair closer to her keyboard.

"I thought we were a team, Gibbs," she said as she pulled up her report from the day before. "Am I wrong about that?"

"No, you're not wrong about that. It's just too bad you didn't have the same attitude a couple of days ago," he stated.

At the look of confusion on her face, Gibbs realized that she had no clue what he meant. He sighed. "Just finish your report, Ziva," he said, shaking his head. "You'll hear all about what's going on before the end of the day."

She nodded once, sharply, satisfied that she'd gotten her point across. She smugly looked around her, only to find Tony watching her. He glanced over at Gibbs, who shrugged at DiNozzo's look of...was that disappointment, she wondered? Now unsettled, she decided to wait until lunch, when she could get McGee and Tony away from the office and grill them about what was going on.

/

Another call about a missing sailor kept the team away from the office until after three. Having taken two vehicles, Tim and Tony drove back together, offering to pick up lunch on the way, thwarting Ziva's attempt to question them. And any effort she attempted to get more information from Gibbs was met with a grunting dismissal.

Frustrated in her attempts to find out what was up, she followed Gibbs to the lab, carrying a small box with the little bit of evidence from the sailor's quarters. She hesitated slightly as she entered the lab, not sure if Abby would order her out of the lab again. But although the lab tech glared at her, she didn't force her to leave again, probably because Gibbs was also present.

But Ziva was fully aware that Abby obviously did not want her there, so decided to keep quiet while Gibbs talked to Abby about their newest case, letting her mind wander, letting ideas run around her head as to what all the secrecy had been about that morning. She tuned back in as she heard Abby voice get louder.

"...her back in my lab unless it's case related," she was saying.

"I understand, Abs. I'll make sure of it. At least until we get this all worked out," Gibbs replied, as they both glanced over at Ziva.

"What?"

Abby scoffed and turned around. "I think you should get her out of here now, Gibbs, before I start going through my list of the best ways to get rid of a body!"

Gibbs smiled and gave Abby a kiss on the cheek. The smile dropped from his face as he turned to face Ziva. "Let's go, David. We have work to do!"

The Mossad agent followed Gibbs out of the lab, glancing back once to see a cold stare aimed her way. She turned back as the elevator dinged its arrival, hustling into the car behind her boss. She fully expected him to flip the emergency stop button, and she was surprised when he didn't. Stepping into the bullpen behind him, she noticed that her teammates were back, doling out sandwiches and drinks onto everyone's desk.

An hour later, Gibbs gathered up several papers from his desk, picked up some files and stood up. "David, with me. McGee, DiNozzo, continue checking the seaman's background and family ...get us some witnesses to talk to."

Both men acknowledged the orders and settled down to get to work.

"Boss?" Gibbs looked up at McGee's call. Tim gestured toward Tony. "Okay if I...?"

Gibbs just nodded, knowing that McGee was anxious to apologize to his Senior Field Agent. At the small smile on Tony's face, the former Marine knew that Tony would allow his 'probie' to speak his peace. Gibbs watched the two men settle in to work, certain that they would be okay. But only after DiNozzo made it as difficult as possible for McGee. He would not let the younger agent off easy. And Gibbs planned to allow DiNozzo to do what needed to be done.

Turning around, he headed back to the same conference room he'd used that morning, Ziva following behind him. He wasn't looking forward to this conversation, but he was interested in hearing her explanation about what had happened that day.

/

The two agents began their searches, each concentrating on different facets of the sailor's life. Fifteen minutes later, McGee leaned back in his chair and watched his teammate, as Tony was shifted his eyes between his computer and the yellow legal pad on his desk. Tim stood up and approached the other man's desk.

"Tony?"

"McGee."

"I...ah...I just wanted to say, I'm sorry about what happened."

"What happened McGee?"

"The other day…when Ziva and….we...I shouldn't have gone along with Ziva." At the confused look on DiNozzo's face, McGee stuttered, continued. "When she turned off the radio... you know...while you were doing your interviews." DiNozzo blinked and frowned. Now McGee was confused. Was it possible that Tony didn't remember?

No, no he remembered, Tim was sure. But then, why was he acting so confused?

"Why?"

"Why, what?" Tim replied.

"Why are you apologizing?" Tony asked. Before McGee could reply, he continued. "I mean, it was no big deal, right? Just a joke?"

"Well, ah, sure," McGee said, a smile of relief flitting across his lips. Tony really didn't think it was that big of an issue, which made McGee feel better.

"Yeah, just a joke," Tony said, leaning back, grinning. "You'd do it to anybody, right?"

McGee lost his smile, getting a bad feeling about the conversation. "Ah, well, no."

"Oh, well that's okay then, McGee. Good to know that every other agent would be safe with you and David as back-ups. Wouldn't want anyone **_else_** to go out into the field and not be able to trust you to back them up!" McGee took a step back as Tony snarled that last sentence. "Good to know, that you care so little about my welfare that you'd deliberately put my life in jeopardy, but you wouldn't do it to anyone else," Tony said, snidely.

"No! No, Tony that wasn't it. I wouldn't do that!"

"You did do that, McGee!" Tony hissed, slapping his hand on his desk.

"Agent DiNozzo!" Both men looked up to see Director Leon Vance standing a few feet away. "What is the meaning of your verbal attack on Agent McGee?!"

"Director..." McGee tried to interrupt.

Vance held a hand up. "No, Agent McGee. This has gone on long enough. The continued harassment of junior agents is not acceptable in a Senior Field Agent. And I will no longer condone it! Agent DiNozzo, you are hereby suspended."

"Director, no... you can't..." McGee stammered.

Vance just smiled. "Oh, but I can. In fact, I've been wanting to for quite a while. And he just gave me a perfect opportunity. Gather your gear and go home, Agent DiNozzo. You'll be notified when...or if... you'll be allowed to return."

"No, please, Director, let me explain!" McGee pleaded. "It isn't what you think. In fact, I'm the one at fault here!"

"I highly doubt that, Agent McGee," Vance declared. "I am aware of the unprofessional manner in which Agent DiNozzo conducts himself on a regular basis. It's time to address that issue." Vance turned around. "Why are you still here, Agent DiNozzo?"

With a look a pure hatred, Tony slammed his badge and gun down on his desk, snatched up his pack and stormed off toward the elevator.

"Tony, wait!" McGee pleaded. "Let me just explain it to him," he said, hurrying over to detain his teammate.

"I don't think he wants to listen, McGee. His Golden Boy was insulted. Good ol' kiss-ass Agent McGee, who can do no wrong!" He slammed his hand against the call button. "Let me be the first to congratulate you on your upcoming promotion. I'm guessing that that little incident you were so gracefully apologizing for won't even be a blip on your record and won't stop your rise up in the ranks. In fact, the Director will probably give you a commendation for it!"

"Tony, I'm sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen. I'll get him to understand."

"Don't bother, McGee," Tony said as he slipped into the elevator. "Just do me a favor. Let Abby or Gibbs clean out my desk. I don't need you screwing up anything else in my life!"

McGee nearly whimpered as the doors closed on an angry Tony DiNozzo, devastated that his planned apology had turned out so disastrously. "Damn it!" he snarled, slapping his hand against the elevator doors. "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

"Agent McGee!" He whirled around to see Vance standing behind him. "Where is Gibbs?"

For a long moment, Tim didn't respond. Shaking his head, he looked at the floor. "He's talking to Ziva. Director...you shouldn't have done that. You don't know what's going on. You don't know what I did, what we did," McGee announced, letting his mouth talk before his brain engaged.

"What are you talking about, Agent McGee? I simply intervened in a verbal attack on an agent."

McGee slumped. "No, Sir. What you did was interrupt a Senior Field Agent addressing a Junior Field Agent who screwed up...and screwed up in a big way. Tony did nothing wrong, Director. I'm the one who was at fault. I'm the one who failed to back up my partner. I'm the one who violated agency policy. I am the one who should have been suspended."

"Agent McGee..."

"With all due respect, Director. I really need to let Gibbs know what's going on. He is not going to be happy."

"Agent McGee! I am still the Director of this Agency..." Vance said, glancing around at the other agents on the floor who had watched and listened to the entire episode. He needed to take charge of the situation again.

"Yes, Sir, you are. But you suspended an agent for doing his job. You walked into the middle of a disciplinary action by my Senior Field Agent. You don't have the full story."

"Then tell me what the full story is, Agent McGee."

"I really believe Gibbs needs to be present for this discussion, Director."

"Fine. Find him and the two of you come up to my office."

Vance spun on his heels and marched toward the stairs. McGee watched him go, dreading Gibbs' reaction when his boss found out what the Director had done.

/


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

Gibbs pulled open the door to the conference room and gestured for Ziva to proceed him into the room. He flipped the 'in use' sign up so that they wouldn't be disturbed. He knew that this would not be as easy as the conversation he'd had earlier with McGee.

Ziva sat down without being directed and leaned back, crossing one leg over the other. Gibbs knew her well enough to know that she wasn't as relaxed as she wanted to appear. He could see the tenseness around her eyes and her fingers fidgeted slightly against her thigh. He took his time settling into a seat himself, wanting to un-nerve her just a bit more.

He wasn't happy with her arrogant attitude during the day, insisting that she be told what he and Tony had been discussing. She'd always been aggressive and blunt in her dealings with others, but the longer she'd been with NCIS, the more demanding she'd become. And he didn't like it. She was pushing him and attempting to control his actions. As Team Leader, he needed to make her aware of her place on the team, without undermining her drive and confidence as an agent. It was a fine line, but he felt it was worth the effort.

But he had to address the issue between her and DiNozzo. She had always been slightly, if not sometimes overtly, condescending toward his Senior Field Agent. When she'd first arrived, he hadn't really paid all that much attention, still reeling from Kate's death and the search for Ari Haswari. And after Ziva had killed her half-brother to save Gibbs' life, he began to trust her more.

But he hadn't taken into account that DiNozzo still didn't. Yet, over the intervening years, they seemed to develop a grudging trust and respect for each other. But after the death of Michael Rivkin and Ziva's kidnapping and reported death in Somalia, that trust seem to erode once again. And although it seemed like Tony welcomed her back into the fold, he was still not sure if the two had regained the trust they had in each other before that particular debacle.

He blamed himself for not addressing the issue earlier, knowing that if he had, this most recent incident might not have occurred. He gave himself a mental head slap for procrastinating and hoping that the problem would resolve itself. He'd never been one to bury his head in the sand and not handle the difficult issues, but he had this time.

He had told himself that Ziva had just needed time to adjust after her horrendous time in captivity. She refused to talk to him, or anyone else outside the therapist's office, about her time in Somalia. But knowing how terrorists worked, he knew that she'd faced daily torture and likely repeated and brutal sexual assault. He partially blamed himself for that, knowing that if he hadn't left her on that tarmac in Israel, she would have been safe and sound at NCIS.

But his own pride had been riled at being given an ultimatum and that put her in a position where her father was able to manipulate her into going on a suicide mission. It had cost her dearly, a price that no man would ever be able to fully understand. He had tried to give her the time to come to terms with that horror.

But yesterday, she had placed a teammate's life in danger. And she seemed to have no inkling that she'd even done anything wrong. He was brought out of his musing when she called his name.

"Gibbs, are you going to explain to me what all this secrecy has been about today or not?"

He narrowed his eyes at her tone. He could hear a touch of arrogance and snarkiness. And he didn't like it. "Why do you think we're keeping secrets from you, Agent David?"

It was Ziva's turn to narrow her eyes. Gibbs seldom used her title and last name, almost always just calling her by her given name, as did most everyone at NCIS. She saw a touch of…what? Anger? Disappointment? She wasn't sure but whichever it was, it made her nervous. She sat up, placing both feet flat on the floor and entwining her fingers together on the table in front of her. "You had McGee re-writing his report. You and Tony were in a closed-door conference, which you ordered me to leave. No one would tell me why."

"Ever hear of 'need-to-know', Agent David?"

"Of course. But as a member of this team, if it dealt with a case, do I not have a need to know?"

"You, and any other agent on my team, has the need to know, only what I feel I need to tell you."

She felt like she'd been slapped. Gibbs had never treated her this way before. He'd always seemed to accept her almost as an equal. In fact, she had often felt that if she'd been an agent when she first joined the team, and not a Mossad liaison officer, she might have been offered a higher position on the team. Possibly even as Senior Field Agent, as she had more experience than McGee, and was more skilled than DiNozzo.

Gibbs opened up the file in front of him and continued. "I am going over the reports from yesterday," he explained. "I needed to talk to each of you separately, to get your individual impressions of what you heard. There were a couple of suspicious things that came up and I wanted you each to give me your thoughts without being influenced by what the others said."

"Sounds reasonable," Ziva replied, knowing that her extensive expertise in counter-terrorism would likely, of all the agents, be the most helpful to Gibbs, possibly even more useful than Gibbs own experience.

"Good," Gibbs said, flipping through the file that Abby had completed and left on his desk earlier in the day. He'd had a chance to quickly peruse the report earlier that day. And he'd struggled to keep his ire from showing on his face. He planned to give Ziva the opportunity to realize exactly what she and McGee had done wrong. But if the former Mossad officer was unable to figure it out on her own, Gibbs had no problem pointing out, in no uncertain terms, just where she had screwed up.

They spent the next few minutes going over the early part of Tony's conversation, the ones the back-up agents should have heard. And he found her comments spot on. Just as he decided to speed things up and get to the part that they would have missed, a frantic knocking came at the door, followed by McGee hurriedly slipping into the room.

"Sorry, Gibbs, but we have an emergency…well, sort of…"

"What is it, McGee?" Gibbs asked, initially perturbed by the interruption, but quickly becoming concerned.

"Vance…Tony…I tried to tell him…he misunderstood…wouldn't listen…!" McGee stopped at the smack to the back of his head. He hadn't even noticed Gibbs stand up and moved next to him.

"In complete sentences, McGee!" Gibbs snarled.

Tim took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Sorry, sorry. Tony & I were talking...about what happened. I apologized and he…"

"Apologized? For what?" Ziva asked.

"Zip it!" Gibbs growled at her, before turning back to McGee and gesturing for him to continue.

"He was taking me to task about it, rightfully so, when Vance came in. The Director went after Tony about verbally attacking me! Gibbs, I tried to explain, but Vance wouldn't let me, told me Tony deserved it…"

"What? Deserved what?" Gibbs asked, a feeling of foreboding suddenly washing over him.

"Vance….he suspended Tony," McGee stated.

"He did what?!" Gibbs exploded. "Of all the stupid, asinine, ignorant…" Gibbs slammed open the door, nearly knocking down a passing agent, and yelling back over his shoulder. "Bring those files and follow me!"

Ziva wasn't sure if Gibbs meant McGee, her, or both of them, but she wasn't about to miss the show. Tony DiNozzo being suspended was a story she wanted to hear. She helped Tim grab everything on the table and they hurried after their leader, rushing to keep up with the irate former Marine. Gibbs took the steps two at a time, not having been this angry since Kate died. Vance was lucky he'd left his door open, because in the state Gibbs was in, he likely would have ripped the damn thing off its hinges.

"What have you done, Leon?" he barked. As soon as he stepping into the office.

"I assume that Agent McGee has informed you of the disciplinary action I've imposed on Agent DiNozzo," Vance replied calmly, shifting his ever-present toothpick to the opposite side of his mouth. He'd expected Gibbs' intrusion. It was the reason he'd left his door open. What he hadn't expected was the subsequent arrival of McGee and David.

"Well yes, Director, he did," Gibbs replied sarcastically. "What he couldn't explain was why you felt it necessary to suspend my agent for doing his damn job!"

"His job? His job does not include verbally attacking a fellow agent. Especially a subordinate!"

"He wasn't…" McGee began, only to be silenced by twin glares from both Gibbs and Vance.

"Agent DiNozzo was verbally correcting his subordinate," Gibbs insisted. "Correcting…not attacking."

"What I heard was a raised voice and a dressing down," Vance returned.

Before Gibbs could continue, McGee bravely stepped forward. "I deserved it, Director."

"McGee!" Gibbs snarled.

"I'm sorry, Boss, but you weren't there. I was," he said, nervously, not wanting to invite Gibbs' wrath, but needing to get his point across. He turned back to Vance. "Director, Tony…. Agent DiNozzo was conducting himself as my Senior Field Agent, going over what I did wrong. The fact of the matter is that I screwed up and it easily could have cost Agent DiNozzo his life. And then, I laughed about it. I'm ashamed to admit that I laughed about something that serious."

Vance removed the toothpick from his mouth. "Something happened that nearly cost DiNozzo his life?" He looked at Gibbs. "Why am I just hearing about this now, Agent Gibbs?"

"Because, Director, I just heard about it myself this morning and I was trying to get all the facts straight before I brought it to you!" Gibbs growled back. He grabbed the files from Ziva and pulled out the one he was looking for. Handing it over to Vance he said. "Agent DiNozzo approached me this morning with that."

Vance opened the file and read the top sheet, which was Tony's Official Dereliction of Duty complaint. While he did, Gibbs turned back to his agents. "McGee, go finish up what you were doing. David, wait for me back in the conference room." The two nodded and turned to leave the room. "And McGee, what I said earlier still stands. I'm not finished with my investigation yet."

"Yes, Boss. You want me to make a coffee run? Looks like it's gonna be a long day," McGee suggested.

"That would be great, McGee, thanks."

"Director?" McGee asked.

Vance shook his head distractedly. "No, thank you, Agent McGee."

Tim nodded and pulled the door closed, ushering Ziva out ahead of him. Once in the hall outside the office, Ziva turned to him.

She smirked. "So, McGee, what did you do that has everyone in a…what is the word…ah yes, an uproar?"

McGee just stared at her, then shook his head and turned to leave. Having not received an answer, Ziva grabbed his arm.

"McGee, I would like an answer," she demanded.

"Agent David, I have been ordered not to talk about this with anyone. And since I've already screwed up badly enough that I could lose my job, I don't plan to disobey that order. If I were you, I'd do what Gibbs said and go wait in the conference room."

With that, Tim spun around and headed toward the stairs. When he got to his desk, he grabbed his coat and rushed toward the elevator. He tried to call Tony, but the other man wasn't picking up his phone. He thought about stopping at the lab to ask Abby to call, but wasn't sure of his welcome now that Abby was aware of his stupid stunt two days before. Not wanting to get into an altercation with the woman, he decided to just let Gibbs handle it. Tony would not ignore his boss's calls.

While McGee headed for the nearest coffee shop, Ziva watched him get into the elevator as she stood by her desk. She debated searching through McGee's and DiNozzo's desks for any clue as to what had everyone so upset, but since she didn't know how long Gibbs would be in with the Director, she felt it prudent to just go wait where she'd been told.

She picked up her own notes and reports regarding their activities on their last case. Maybe by going over everything, she would be able to figure out what happened. She didn't recall anything occurring that had put Tony's life in jeopardy. Unless you count the married woman who tried to entice the flamboyant agent to join her in her home, she thought with a smirk.

She wondered if Tony and McGee had gone back out on something that she wasn't aware of. And if they had, why hadn't she been included. Although, she thought, she had left before the others, so maybe something had come in that didn't need the whole team, so Gibbs decided to just let the others handle it. That had obviously been a mistake, if something had happened that nearly got Tony killed. No matter. She shrugged and headed for the conference room. Tony was obviously fine and she would dig the truth out of him or McGee at another time.

An hour later, she was still alone in the room and beginning to wonder if she should go searching for Gibbs or if he was testing her in some way. Whatever had happened with McGee and DiNozzo must have been very serious for Gibbs to spend so much time in the Director's office. She finished going over her report and hadn't found anything there to warrant the drama of that morning. So whatever had occurred must have happened after she left. She stood and began to pace. Never good at waiting, she wished Gibbs would hurry, so that she could get back to work. Just as she was about to leave the room for a break to get a bottle of water or something else to drink, the door swung open and Gibbs walked in, pulling it closed behind him.

"Sit," he ordered.

She sat down, pushing her report toward her boss. "I went back over my report from the case," she said. "Everything is in order."

He glanced at her with a look on his face that should couldn't readily identify. She'd gotten better at reading her supervisor, but still was not as good at it as Tony. He seemed to be able to read Gibbs' mood even when the former Marine wasn't in the room! She'd asked him once how he did that and the only reply she'd received was that it 'was a gift'. A frustratingly non-helpful answer, to say the least.

She sat back and watched as Gibbs read her report, not liking the frown that settled on his face the further he got into the document. He closed the file and tossed it across the table. It stopped just short of falling off the other side.

"Gibbs, is something wrong with my report?"

He glared at her, then grabbed one of the files he'd brought back with him. "Let's get back to what we were doing before we were interrupted," he said.

He'd taken a few minutes with McGee before he came in to try to get an idea of just when he and Ziva had turned off the radio. McGee had located the last conversation they'd heard both on the transcript and on the disc itself. Gibbs marked the spot on the disc and began the recording a few minutes prior to that conversation. He hit 'play' and Tony's voice filled the room.

"Gibbs, I do not understand. We already caught the terrorist, why are we…"

"Listen!" he ordered. They listened silently for the next few minutes, when he heard the sound of the car door opening up. As the conversation in the car played out and he once again listened while McGee and Ziva admitted to Tony that they hadn't been providing him with the back-up that he thought he'd had, he saw a small smile play across Ziva's lips.

It enraged him. He slammed his hand down on the stop button. She jumped at the violent action. "Do you still want to pretend that you have no clue what McGee was talking about in Vance's office earlier?" he asked her through clenched teeth.

"Gibbs, I do not understand…"

"That, Agent David, is blatantly obvious. Should I play it back for you?"

"Play what back? Nothing happened!"

"Yes, I am aware of that as well. The only one doing his job that day was DiNozzo!"

"What?! McGee and I spent hours in that car, listening to him babble…"

"Babble?! He was doing what he was supposed to be doing, engaging the residents in conversation. Did you honestly expect him to just knock on their door and say 'hello, I believe you might be a terrorist. Could you please speak into this microphone so that we can get a sample of your voice?!'"

"Of course not."

"Tony was doing his job. What exactly was your job, Agent David?"

"McGee and I were assigned to monitor Tony's conver…sations," she replied, just then realizing the point Gibbs was trying to make.

_Finally,_ Gibbs thought, _only a day late and a dollar short_, as his mother used to say.

"And just how did you expect to carry out your assignment," he asked, "if you TURNED OFF THE DAMN RADIO?!" His voice raised so loudly that he could be heard echoing down the hall outside the closed doors, garnering looks from more than one passing agent.

The agents weren't surprised at the raised voice, as it wasn't all that unusual an occurrence, and could only pity the poor slob who was the object of that rage. They wondered if NCIS would be down an agent when Gibbs was done. Some hoped it might be an FBI agent on the receiving end, but no one could recall seeing any of the Hoover boys in attendance that morning.

Several of the agents had seen Gibbs storming to and from Vance's office that morning, following DiNozzo's volatile exit. They knew that Vance had been involved in Tony's departure, which of course had likely accounted for Gibbs' anger. McGee was currently at his desk and keeping his head down and his eyes averted, which meant he was probably well aware of just what the heated discussion was about. By process of elimination then, most assumed that the poor agent on the receiving end of Gibbs' tirade was the former Mossad officer.

Now, some agents thought that even Gibbs was foolish to go face-to-face like that with a trained assassin. Others felt that it was long overdue, considering her normally arrogant attitude. Either way, many of the agents quickly found something to do…out of the office.

Fifteen minutes later, Gibbs stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He turned toward the bullpen, then changed his mind and headed for the back stairs. Two minutes later, the doors of the autopsy room whooshed open before him. He glanced around, grateful to see the ME alone.

"Ah, Jethro," Donald 'Ducky' Mallard greeted him. "You're just in time. I've just completed my written report."

Gibbs grunted and began to pace around the large chilly room. Ducky gave him a minute before he ventured a comment.

"Something has obviously upset you. I would suspect it has something to do with the fact you had an altercation with the good Director this morning."

Gibbs just shook his head and snorted. "_Good_ Director, my ass. If he was a good Director, he would find out facts of a situation before he suspends one of his best agents for doing his damned job!"

"Suspended? He suspended you?"

"NO! Not me! DiNozzo!"

"He suspended Anthony? Why?" Ducky asked, getting up from his desk and walking toward Gibbs.

The former Marine took a deep breath and blew it out hard before leaning back against one of the gleaming metal tables, crossing his arms across his chest. "Tell me something, Ducky. In all your experience, when an agent is assigned to monitor another agent who is undercover, have you ever heard of any agent who turned off the sound so he couldn't hear what the undercover was saying?"

Ducky was appalled. "Of course not! That would be a gross misjudgment, not to mention strictly forbidden by policy and just plain downright dangerous for the agent who was undercover." He got a baffled look on his face. "Certainly not Anthony! He would never do that, Jethro. He's too good an agent to ever do something so stupid," he insisted, now angry on Tony's behalf.

Gibbs raised a hand. "No, not DiNozzo. He was the undercover in this case."

"Then who…Timothy and Ziva?"

Gibbs sighed and ran a tired hand across his worn features. "Yeah. McGee fessed up on his own. But Ziva…she just doesn't get it, Ducky. I had to practically spell it out for her and I still don't think she understands exactly how badly she messed up."

"But that's…that's…" Ducky stopped, unable to articulate his consternation, pacing his autopsy and waving his arms as if that would assist him in grasping the proper word his was searching for.

Gibbs smiled, for the first time that day. "Ah, Dr. Mallard, at a loss for words? That's not like you."

Ducky spun around to face his friend. "This is not funny, Jethro!" he barked.

"Oh, trust me, I know just how un-funny this is. Tony presented me with a formal Dereliction of Duty complaint this morning."

"And well he should!"

"I agree. He told me he'd had a sleepless night, debating with himself whether he should make the report or not. In the end, he decided to do it so that no other agents' lives were endangered in the future."

Noticing the frown on Gibbs' face, Ducky ventured, "Surely you don't disagree."

"Hell no. It's just…. He only did it to protect other agents in the future, not because he himself was endangered, Duck. He didn't seem to think that those two putting his life on the line was important!"

The doctor could see how upset Gibbs was at the prospect that Tony didn't value his own life as highly as others. "You, of course, repudiated that silly notion," Ducky stated with certainty.

Gibbs' lip curled up. "Yeah, I did."

"Then why the suspension?" Ducky asked, getting back to the main point.

The former Gunnery Sergeant sighed and lifted himself onto the table he'd been leaning against.

"McGee decided to apologize to DiNozzo. Tony was explaining, as he should, just why what McGee did was such a mistake. I guess Tony raised his voice. Vance overheard, took DiNozzo to task for, 'verbally attacking' McGee," he said, using finger quotes. "Told DiNozzo it was improper conduct and put him on suspension."

"Surely, Timothy…"

"McGee tried to explain, but Vance refused to listen."

"Sometimes that man can be downright reactionary."

"Yeah, well, McGee came and got me, but Tony had already left, so I went and spoke to the Good Director," he said, the last bit dripping with sarcasm.

"Did you get it all worked out?" Ducky asked, moving over to lean against the table near where Gibbs sat.

"Yeah. He withdrew the suspension."

"And is Anthony back at his desk where he belongs?"

"No. I called him and let him know that Vance had screwed up, but told him to just take the rest of the day off. We're off rotation anyway until Vance decides what action to take towards McGee and David."

"Will they be terminated?" Ducky asked, not sure how he would feel if that occurred.

"I doubt it," Gibbs told him. "Tony doesn't want that and neither do I. They are both good agents who made a huge mistake and violated agency policy. I think he'll probably give them a lengthy suspension. He might kick McGee back to probationary status and send him back to FLETC for remedial training."

"And Ziva?" Ducky worried.

"I don't know. She's already probationary. He could terminate her employment with no cause."

"And with this, he has cause."

Gibbs nodded. "And she's the one who initiated the action to turn off the radio. Then when I spoke to her this morning and played back the part of the recording where they told DiNozzo that they hadn't been listening to him, she still thought it was a joke."

Ducky sighed and crossed his arms against his chest. "I'm going to play Devil's Advocate here." Gibbs looked skeptical but didn't comment. "Ziva David is a product of Mossad. By nature Mossad officers can often rely only on themselves…" He held up his hand when Gibbs started to speak up, the former Marine's eyes turning to flint. "I realize that she has been with NCIS for several years, but her Mossad training is deeply ingrained. She has had to learn an entirely new way of thinking."

"That's no excuse, Ducky! After this long, she should know the meaning of team, of backup…of partners for Christ's sake. She's been working with NCIS for years now!" He jumped off the table and began to pace the room again. "I've recommended that she go through the complete FLETC training, and Vance wants her to attend some additional courses that the FBI coordinates, specifically addressing teamwork and team building."

"She is not going to like that, but I believe she will benefit from the experience."

Gibbs snorted. "She'll hate it. And maybe that's a good thing. She hadn't been required to take the full training because she had so much prior experience, both with Mossad and as liaison officer with NCIS. But, maybe we were wrong not to at least send her to the abbreviated training that LEO's go through when they transfer to NCIS."

"Hindsight, Jethro. And really, that would have been Director Shepard's call and being that Ziva was a friend of hers, I'm not sure she would have insisted on that."

Gibbs rubbed a hand across his short hair and frowned. "Yeah. But the problem is, Ziva and McGee aren't the only ones who'll be attending the team building seminars."

Duck struggled not to grin at Gibbs' obvious distaste at the thought of attending the classes that Vance suggested. "It's not really a bad idea, Jethro."

Gibbs sighed. "No, I suppose not. I just hate those things."

Mallard walked over to his friend and gave him a sympathetic pat on the back. "Indeed. However, something else troubles you."

Gibbs turned to his friend and nodded. "As much as I think the re-training and classes will help McGee and Ziva, I'm just not sure that Tony's trust will be easily regained. And I won't force him to work with them again if he doesn't think that he can trust them."

"So then who goes and who stays?" he asked, hitting the cause of Gibbs' worry. "I don't envy you that dilemma, my friend."

"Oh, don't get me wrong, Ducky. I don't plan to let DiNozzo go anywhere, unless _he_ wants to go. Truthfully, I'm not feeling too much trust in McGee or David myself right now. And once word gets around…"

"….and it will," Ducky supplied.

"And it will…once others know what they did, they may not be welcome on any other team. And you know how DiNozzo is."

"Ah, yes. He will allow them to stay on the team and pretend to trust them, but will revert back to how he was when he first got here."

"Yeah and I don't want that. I need to make it clear to him that _he_ has _my_ trust and if need be, he will partner only with me whenever possible."

"And that would leave McGee and Ziva partnering together. Will Vance allow that, seeing as they will both technically be probationary agents?"

"And therein lies the real dilemma, Doctor Mallard." Gibbs replied with a rueful grin.

Ducky smiled. "You and Anthony worked quite well together as a two-man team before the arrival of Caitlin," he prompted.

"Yes we did. But you also know how long Tom Morrow busted my chops about filling out the team. I doubt that Vance will give me the same leeway. And I know that he won't allow me to choose my own team, like Morrow did."

"Likely not. So, when will you be speaking to Anthony about this?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Tonight. I want to go over some options with him, then wait and see what Vance decides. We'll go from there."

"You are going to keep a close eye on the boy in the meantime," Ducky said, more statement than question.

"As close as he'll let me, Duck. As close as he'll let me." He glanced at his watch. "Speaking of… I told him to be at my place at eighteen-hundred hours. I gotta go."

"Give him my regards, Jethro. And let him know that I believe he did the right thing-the only thing a good agent worthy of the title Senior Field Agent should have done."

Gibbs smiled. "I will, Ducky, Thanks." He turned at the door. "Ya know, you're welcome to join us if you want."

"Thank you, Jethro," he replied, grateful for the invitation. "But I think you and Anthony need this time alone. I will make my feelings known to him in the near future. And if this incident does make the rounds, as I'm sure it will, I hope that other senior agents will also assure him that he did the right thing."

Nodding, Gibbs moved through the doors, calling a good night over his shoulder.

"Good night, Jethro. Give my best to Anthony."

Gibbs waved an acknowledgement as the doors closed behind him.

/


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

The next day, Gibbs had come in early at Vance's request to help with an operation in MTAC. Once over, the men left the room and stood at the railing looking down at the bullpen. Team members were filtering in to start their day. Vance heaved a sigh.

Gibbs glanced over at him. "Problems, Leon? I thought the op went well."

"Yes, it did."

"How about a coffee? We were in there for three hours. I could use one."

"I'd like that, but there's something I need to do first." His tone of voice indicated it wasn't something he was looking forward to.

Gibbs followed Vance's gaze to Tony's desk, where the Agent was powering up his computer for the day, just like his other two teammates. Gibbs smiled that trademark half-grin of his. "Suck it up, Leon. You know how I feel about apologies, but when they have to be given, best to just get them over with."

"Yes, I know." He ran a hand down his face and straightened his suit jacket.

"When are you going to have a decision about McGee and David?" Gibbs inquired.

"The decision will be made by the end of the week. But this thing with DiNozzo can't wait." Saying that, he walked down the stairs and stopped at Tony's desk. He knew he was drawing attention from all the staff on the floor. He hated it, but it needed to be done this way. He missed, however, the smug grin on Ziva's face, as he was facing away from her. Tony didn't miss it, though. He tensed as he stood up to face the Director.

"Agent DiNozzo," Vance said, taking his ever-present toothpick out of his mouth.

"Sir," Tony said respectfully, even though he had none for the man in front of him.

"I need to apologize for yesterday. I should have gotten the facts before taking any actions. I'm sorry. And it won't happen again." He held out a hand, which Tony shook.

"Appreciated, Sir." Tony accepted the apology, even knowing that Vance still didn't care for him. But Tony did get a small bit of satisfaction at seeing the grin leave Ziva's face as Vance apologized to him. Vance started to turn away, but then turned back.

"By the way, you did the right thing in making a formal complaint. The situation _will_ be handled."

"Yes, sir." Tony could see the quizzical looks from some of the other teams. Tony's complaint was not yet common knowledge, and wouldn't be until repercussions were handed down.

"Gibbs," the Director said, heading for the elevator, "you still up for that coffee? I'm buying." The two headed towards the elevator, then Vance looked back. "DiNozzo, join us," he said. Tony hesitated a second, but at a small nod from Gibbs, grabbed his gun and pack and hurried over to them. Their two remaining team members just gaped in surprise, before slowly resuming their morning chores. They could both hear the snickering coming from the other agents on the floor, but pretended they didn't know it was directed at them.

/

Two more days passed while the team awaited Vance's decision, and things were tense. Tony and McGee seemed to be getting along okay, due mostly to the fact that McGee had not only apologized, but had realized his mistake without having to be pummeled with the facts.

Ziva…Ziva was another matter. As she watched the others, she was confused by the distance she could feel between them now. Especially between her and Tony. He was barely speaking to her. In fact, he was barely speaking, period. Oh, he talked to McGee and Gibbs when they initiated the conversation. And Abby was able to get a small smile out of him. But he barely even looked Ziva's way, much less teased her like he normally would.

She didn't understand the problem. She knew that it all stemmed from the stakeout, that the others thought that turning off the radio was a big deal. But she not only didn't feel that the incident was noteworthy… after all, Tony was unharmed… but she resented the fact that DiNozzo had deemed it necessary to even mention it. Much less make an official complaint about it. And now the Director was involved? This was not how things were handled in Mossad! In her former agency, if something like this had happened, the two people involved would have handled the problem one-on-one, and their superior officers would not have even been aware there was a problem.

And she didn't understand why McGee was being so weak. He had actually apologized to DiNozzo. Apologized! It was times like this that she sometimes regretted leaving Mossad. The people there didn't show this lack of backbone.

She sighed. Then again, they also didn't show her that they cared about her. It was NCIS, after all, that rescued her from the terrorist camp in Somalia. True, they hadn't known she was there at the time. Had, in fact, thought that she was dead. But at least they went there with the intent to avenge her death. Which was more than she could say for Mossad! Her own father had written her off!

She silently cursed. She was frustrated, wanting to be a part of this team, this…family. But also angry that they….that Tony….would treat her this way. She was just playing a prank on him, like he had done to her, and McGee, on numerous occasions.

And Gibbs! The man allowed Tony to get away with practical jokes that he'd played against her and McGee, but the minute one of them retaliated, he was in their face and making official complaints! She slapped her desk, drawing the attention of the others.

Gibbs raised that infernal eyebrow, his typical non-verbal admonishment when he didn't like something. McGee was biting his lower lip, probably waiting for her to start throwing things. And Tony….Tony wasn't even looking her way, totally ignoring her outburst.

Why couldn't he just have talked to her? Why did he have to make a big deal out of everything? He went running to Gibbs like a child tattling on his siblings. She was angry. And, if she was honest with herself, she was also frightened.

She enjoyed working on this team, and now there was a chance that her time here was finished. And all because of a stupid prank! McGee had been just as involved as she was, but the others were at least talking to him! Maybe… maybe if she apologized too… maybe then they would forgive her and this whole thing would just go away. Tony was not one to hold a grudge. She would pretend to be sorry and everything would blow up…no, that wasn't the word…blow over! Yes, blow over.

She stood up, prepared to grovel. Just as she approached Tony's desk, she was interrupted, as Gibbs' phone rang. After a brief conversation, Gibbs hung up.

"DiNozzo, with me," he said, moving toward the stairs. Tony joined him and they walked up the steps side by side, headed for the Director's office.

McGee and Ziva watched them go. Tim sighed, his shoulders slumped. "I guess it won't be long now," he said.

"Will not be long?" she asked.

He nodded. "We should know soon whether or not we'll still be a part of this team."

She sat down on the edge of Tony's desk. "Do you really think they will kick us off the team, McGee?" she scoffed.

"I don't know. I know that Tony and Gibbs both lost some faith in us. They don't trust us like they used to. You have to be able to trust the people watching your back, Ziva."

"It was just a joke," she insisted.

He nodded again. "Yeah. I know. I thought it was funny too, at the time. But when I got to thinking about it, about Tony's reaction that day, I realized what could have happened. Tony could have been hurt, even killed. It was our job to watch his back. We're just lucky nothing happened. He would never have done that to us."

"Oh, please! He has played pranks on us nearly every day!"

"Yeah, here at the office, never in the field while we're actively engaging possible suspects," McGee said. "I hate the pranks, too, Ziva. But nothing he's ever done would have endangered either one of us."

"I just do not understand the problem. He is fine. No harm came to him."

"But it could have. And we would never have known it."

"McGee, if someone would have shot him while he was going door to door, even if we had been listening, we would not have been able to prevent it. It still would have happened. And we would have heard any shot."

"I know. That's not the point."

"Then what is the point?!"

Both turned around as another voice answered the question. "The point is, my dear, that while you might not have prevented it from happening, you would have been there to assist him afterwards, and possibly catch the perpetrator," Ducky informed her. "And what if he had been injured in some other way? A stabbing, a blow to the head. You wouldn't have heard those from your vehicle."

"But he is fine!" she insisted.

"But he could have been hurt or died. That he did not, does not alter the fact that you made a misjudgment."

"Any one of us could die at any given time on this job, Dr. Mallard. It is the risk that we take."

Ducky smiled sadly, understanding what Gibbs had meant about her just not getting the problem. "Which is why the policy is in place, Agent David. To minimize those risks whenever possible. You risk your lives on a daily basis, you should want to avoid it whenever you can. Or at the very least, minimize the possibility."

Ziva silently moved back to her desk, thinking on Ducky's words, as the doctor glanced at McGee.

"Where are Anthony and Jethro?" he asked.

"Up with the director," Tim replied, a look of foreboding crossing his face.

"Ah, so now you await your fate," he said, nodding at Tim's mood.

"We could lose our jobs, Ducky," McGee replied softly.

"I doubt that will happen, Timothy. Both Jethro and Anthony believe that you and Ziva are good agents. Neither wants you to leave."

"But?"

"But, I just don't think I can trust you right now, McGee," Tony replied as he and Gibbs returned to the bullpen.

"Tony..."

"Enough!" Gibbs interrupted any further conversation. "McGee. David. The Director needs to speak with you."

Tim took a deep breath and stood up, bracing himself for what was to come. He glanced quickly at both DiNozzo and Gibbs, but was unable to glean any information on what was to come from either man. Stepping around his desk, he moved toward the staircase, feeling like he was walking to his own execution. Ziva silently fell into step beside him and they slowly climbed the stairs.

As they walked out of view, Tony sighed and sat down on the edge of his desk. He was jolted out of his thoughts by a light tap to the back of his head.

"I know, Boss. It's just..."

"Anything that happens is on them, Tony. You did the right thing, the *only* thing, you could have done. It'll be alright."

"May I ask?" Ducky interjected.

Gibbs glanced around, noting that no other agents were nearby, and replied quietly. "Thirty day suspension and remedial training for both. Return to probationary status for McGee for six months. An extra year of probationary status for David. Permanent reprimand in their files. And if they get any more complaints, it's termination without notice."

Ducky nodded. "Harsh, but not out of line considering the offense."

"They're lucky they're still employed," Gibbs growled.

Tony chuckled, causing both men to glance his way. "You should have seen him, Ducky," he said, gesturing with his head toward his boss. "Vance had decided on two weeks suspension. That wasn't long enough for Gibbs, he wanted ninety days. I was sure they were gonna come to blows. I was getting ready to call you to get a betting pool started when they compromised on one month."

"Only because he upped the probationary time," Gibbs muttered, with a smirk.

Ducky chuckled, then got serious. "And when they return?" he asked.

Gibbs sighed and settled down next to DiNozzo, silently giving his support. "Vance is assigning two temporary agents to the team for six months. They will be our backups while McGee and David serve their suspensions and go through the remedial training. They'll stay with the team once the others return and serve as training officers, along with Tony and myself. Then both are due to be promoted to Senior Field Agents on two new teams that Vance is creating."

"Yeah, talk about taking advantage of an opportunity," Tony remarked. "He'd been trying to figure out what to do with the two TAD's once they arrived at the end of the month, since they don't have teams yet. This way, they'll still be working. I'll get them versed on the different forms and duties of Senior Field Agent, while they get some on-the-job training on how to handle probies."

"And until they arrive?" Ducky asked with a smile, since he figured he knew the answer.

Gibbs smiled at his Senior Field Agent. "DiNozzo and I return to a two-man team, with temporary assistance of other teams or agents as needed," he said, obviously happy about the situation. "Just like old times, hey, DiNozzo?"

Tony grimaced. "Yeah, I remember those days. I was Senior Field Agent, Probie, go-fer, and chief-bottle-washer, all wrapped into one." Then he smiled and winked at Ducky, before turning to Gibbs. "Good times, Boss. Good times." He looked around their area and frowned. "Ya know, Boss. We're gonna have to re-arrange the desks. Six people won't fit comfortably in here."

Gibbs glanced around. "I'm delegating that problem to my SFA, DiNozzo. Deal with it!" Then he stalked over to his desk, tossing a wink at Ducky as he did, which caused the doctor to let out a loud chuckle. Ducky patted Tony on the shoulder.

"I am sure you will come up with a creative solution, Anthony. Now, I must get back to work. I have a report to finish for Agent Balboa's team. Before I go, however, I would like to invite you gentlemen to dinner, my treat. I believe we all need a distraction from the unpleasantness of this week. I plan to invite Abigail and Mr. Palmer as well."

"I'd like that, Ducky," Tony said. "Boss?" Gibbs nodded his acceptance as well.

"Excellent!" Ducky exclaimed. "We shall meet you here at 1700 hours then. Until then, ta-ta."

"See ya, Ducky," Tony replied, as the elderly Scotsman headed toward the elevator. He pushed off his desk and walked around behind it, settling into his chair. His gaze wandered to Ziva's desk, then over to McGee's.

Gibbs noticed as his agent's mood turned melancholy. "It'll be okay, Tony. They'll serve their suspensions, do their training and come back. The distance will be good for all of us, let the tensions settle a bit."

Tony nodded. "You think it'll be okay when they come back, Boss?"

"They have a long road to travel to regain trust from both of us, but from you especially. I meant what I said in Vance's office, DiNozzo. If it comes to the point where you just don't think you can work with them anymore, I will cut them loose. They can transfer or resign, I'll leave that option up to them. But they won't continue on my team...on _our_ team."

Tony looked up at his boss, the one man who had supported him, defended him and stood by him, his entire time at NCIS. Yes, the man could be a tyrant. Tony's head often ached for days after some of Gibbs' attempts to get the younger man to focus on his job. But in the end, the former Marine was Tony's rock. His calm in the storm that was often his life.

"Our team. Got it, Boss."

Gibbs nodded, then both men turned back to the mundane work that was their everyday existence. For the next twenty minutes, they concentrated on the paperwork that was inherent with their individual positions. Both looked up as they heard some angry muttering and quick steps moving down the stairs.

Ziva returned to the bullpen, followed more sedately by McGee. She yanked open the top drawer of her desk and retrieved her weapon. Stalking over to Gibbs' desk she barely restrained herself from slamming it down on the desk top, instead setting it down next to his coffee cup. She then slid her badge from her belt. Taking a long look at it, she tossed it down next to her gun, then spun on her heel. She slid behind her desk, snatched her backpack from the floor, and after a last, withering look at DiNozzo, hurried toward the elevator.

She jammed her finger against the button repeatedly, then, impatient when it didn't arrive immediately, turned and headed for the stairs, slamming open the door hard enough for it to hit the wall behind it. They could hear her steps racing down toward the ground floor. As the hydraulic door closed again, an abnormal quiet settled over the room for a full minute, before everyone returned to their work.

Ziva's three teammates were still staring at the stairwell door, until McGee broke the silence.

"She's not real happy with her punishment," he remarked.

"And you, McGee?" Gibbs asked.

Tim retrieved his own firearm, setting it and his badge on Gibbs' desk, next to Ziva's.

"I'm grateful I still have my job. And especially grateful that you and Tony are giving me a second chance to continue on this team." He turned to face DiNozzo, letting him know that his next words were directed at him. "I will do everything in my power to regain your trust and prove to you that nothing like this will ever happen again. If that means that I'm a probie for the rest of my career, then so be it."

Tony and Gibbs exchanged a glance as Tony stood and joined McGee. "That's a major step in the right direction, McGee. For my part, once you return, I will try my best to trust you again. But no guarantees."

"I don't expect any, Tony. I just want the chance." He stuck out his hand, hopeful.

DiNozzo nodded. "Last chance, McGee." But he put out his own hand. McGee smiled and grasped it, before gathering up his bag and heading toward the elevator, which had just arrived from Ziva's summons. He stepped on board and waved, calling out. "See you in a couple months."

Tony sat down on the edge of Gibbs' desk. "Wow," was his only remark.

"Wow indeed. Now get your ass off my desk and get back to work!"

"Yes, Boss!"

Gibbs smiled behind his coffee cup, then gathered up the two guns and badges, locking them in the gun safe in his bottom drawer. He would take the guns down to the armory later for safekeeping until the two agents returned to work.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

**Three months later**

Tim McGee took a deep breath as he exited the elevator. He was finally cleared to return to his team and was looking forward to it. He hadn't talked to Tony or Gibbs in the time he'd been gone. He'd spoken to Abby on just a couple of occasions and of course he saw Ziva every day while they were at FLETC for their re-training.

Tim had taken the time during his suspension and gone home to visit his family. His father, who was an Admiral in the Navy, had been extremely disappointed in him. But the two men had also taken the time to have some very intense talks about his future, and in the end, his dad had told him that, while he was disappointed in what he'd done, he was also proud of him for owning up to his mistake and taking his punishment without complaint. He and his father had forged a new relationship, as adults, which Tim was learning to treasure.

And in fact, McGee had taken the opportunity to learn, glad for the refresher course. Although he had been through FLETC before, he came at it from a different perspective as a seasoned field agent. And he discovered he understood some of the training much better this time around and gained more from it. He was determined not to screw up this second chance.

He entered the team section and stopped short. Desks had been moved around, with six desks now filling the space below the steps. Tony now sat at the desk that used to belong to Ziva, next to Gibbs, both men hard at work staring at their monitors. On the other side of the room four desks sat in two pairs, sideways to Gibbs' and Tony's desks. Each pair faced its partner, and the partition wall and work station that had once sat next to McGee's area was gone, to make more room for the extra desks.

Two agents sat at the other desks, each at one end, leaving the two desks in the middle empty. So, it looked like he and Ziva would be stuck in the middle, back-to-back. Oh joy. He sighed and approached Gibbs' desk.

He waited for his boss to look up. "Good Morning, Agent Gibbs."

"McGee. You ready to get to work?"

"Absolutely."

"Good." Gibbs reached into his desk, tossing McGee's badge to him, catching McGee off guard as he juggled it, nearly dropping it before getting a good grasp and clutching it to his chest. "Go down to the armory to sign out your weapon. Then report back to Agent Cooper," he said, pointing behind McGee.

Tim turned to face the man who would be dogging his every move for the next few months. Darius Cooper was tall and stocky, his skin a dark ebony, the light shining off his clean-shaven head. He stood up as McGee moved toward his desk and stuck out his hand. McGee chafed slightly under the intense gaze the other man sent his way, which answered the unvoiced question of whether the new agents were aware of what had happened.

"Agent Cooper. I look forward to working with you."

Cooper shook his hand briefly. "McGee. We'll talk once you've retrieved your weapon."

Cooper and the other TAD, Melissa Nightwalker, had been briefed on the reason for McGee and David's absence. Gibbs had spelled out exactly what he wanted accomplished in the first few days, and the following weeks. Both agents were fully on board. They also knew that neither McGee nor Ziva would be happy with the situation, but if they wanted to keep their jobs, they would keep their mouths shut and do what they were told.

McGee nodded, dropped his backpack on the desk, and headed toward the armory. When he returned, he noticed that Ziva had still not arrived. Glancing at the clock, he saw that she only had five minutes before she would be late. He saw Gibbs glancing at his watch and noticed his jaw muscles tightening up.

Suddenly a voice called out, "I am here. My vehicle had a flat." Ziva hurried into the bullpen and up to Gibbs' desk. He tossed her badge at her and growled. "You have four minutes to get downstairs and sign out your weapon, Agent David. If you're not back by zero eight hundred on the nose, you can consider that your first strike and you may not get another."

Ziva nodded and rushed off again, racing for the stairs, knowing that if she waited for the elevator she would never make it back in time and she was already pressing her luck. She had hated the FLETC courses that she and McGee had been forced to endure. The instructors had been insufferable idiots and she had barely tolerated the eight weeks they'd had to spend there. She had nearly quit several times, but didn't want to give Anthony DiNozzo the satisfaction of winning, so she stuck it out.

She was former-Mossad. There was absolutely no training that the Americans could put her through that she would not excel at. And excel she had, even if some of the instructors commented about her attitude. She didn't care about attitude, as long as the job got done. After all, she worked for one of the biggest bastards in the agency, in Leroy Jethro Gibbs. As far as she was concerned, she fit right in with him.

Which is why she was so stunned when the 'punishment' had been set down. Vance had informed her and McGee that they both could have lost their jobs. At the very least, Gibbs had wanted a more severe punishment than Vance had eventually settled on. The Director had told them that it was DiNozzo that was the one most instrumental in them keeping their jobs. After a talk with Vance, DiNozzo decided that he didn't want them terminated for a single incident.

Ziva scoffed. Now, there was a man with no backbone, she thought. If DiNozzo had felt so strongly that they had done something wrong that he'd written an official complaint, then he should have stood up for his convictions and insisted on their terminations. Instead, he cow-towed to Vance and allowed them to stay. Well, she would get the last laugh, as she planned to be here long after he was gone!

She quickly signed her signature, grabbed her firearm and raced back up the stairs to slide back into the bullpen with seconds to spare. She smiled as she glanced at the clock just as it ticked over to eight o'clock. She glanced around in triumph, only to see that no one was really paying all that much attention to her. Neither Gibbs nor DiNozzo were even at their desks, and McGee was deep in conversation with another agent.

She turned to find a tall, black-haired female agent sitting behind the other desk, staring at her. It was only then that she realized that the woman was sitting at Tony's desk. She then remembered that DiNozzo had been sitting at her desk when she had hurried in. Well, that wouldn't continue. She moved to reclaim her desk, only to be stopped by the agent's voice.

"Excuse me, Agent David," she said. "Please take a seat over here." She pointed to the chair across the desk from her.

"This is my desk," Ziva said, pointed to the desk beside Gibbs.

"Not anymore," Nightwalker advised her.

Ziva smirked. "And just who are you to tell me where I will sit?"

Nightwalker stood up. She was taller than Ziva expected, nearly Gibbs' height, which meant she was a few inches taller than Ziva. "Until further notice, Agent David, I am your training officer." She smiled as Ziva look of distaste. "You will be my shadow, following everything I do, and doing what I, Gibbs or DiNozzo tell you to do. Having said that, you will take this seat over here, sit down, shut up, and listen."

"And if I do not?"

"Then it will be strike one. I understand you are familiar with American baseball?"

"We play baseball in Israel as well," Ziva replied, still smirking.

"Excellent, then you know the concept of three strikes and you're out. I won't tell you again."

Nightwalker then took her own seat again and returned back to the paperwork she was filling out. Ziva took a quick look at McGee and Cooper, whom she had not yet been introduced to, saw them staring at her, and decided she'd already gotten off on the wrong foot and should probably not cause a problem so early. She would wait and see what happened. So she moved over to the desk, set her backpack on the floor next to the filing cabinet, and sat down.

"I am sorry," she says, trying to sound sincere. "I just was not expecting the...changes when I came in. I did not realize that we would be assigned training officers. I thought that the FLETC training was complete."

"Obviously you didn't read the paperwork that you received from Agent DiNozzo last week," Nightwalker said. "So, we'll start from the beginning. I am Agent Melissa Nightwalker. The gentleman over there with Agent McGee is Agent Darius Cooper. We have been temporarily assigned to Gibbs' team in an effort to learn from him and Agent DiNozzo, as we are both in line for promotion to Senior Field Agents. Our teams are still being formed, therefore Director Vance decided that it would do us well to get some practical experience in training and learning to lead other agents. You and Agent McGee are those agents. During the interim, you will follow the orders of myself and Agent Cooper, as well as Gibbs and DiNozzo. Any questions so far?" she asked, glancing up at Ziva and at McGee.

"No, Ma'am," McGee replied. Ziva merely shook her head, not quite sure what to make of the situation. She chafed taking orders from DiNozzo and now she had two more agents that could order her around?

She looked over her shoulder at McGee, who seemed eager to be in this position. Well, he always was more of the follower than the leader type. She guessed he would be okay with all of this. And, she would learn to tolerate it until Nightwalker and Cooper left and things got back to normal.

Nightwalker gathered up the papers on her desk and slipped them into a file. "Now, I have to run down to see Ducky and Abby, so Darius will give you both your first assignments." With that she got up and walked toward the elevators.

Cooper sat back in his chair, a small smile on his face, as both junior agents turned to look his way. "You will first need to get logged on to your computers. You will likely have to reset all of your passwords and such. McGee, you can helped David with that if she needs it. Once you've completed that, you need to type up a report on the training that you went through at FLETC, your impressions on how you did and your critique of the classes and instructors."

"Ah, Agent Cooper, we did this already. We had to do a critique after each class we took," McGee ventured.

"Yes, I am aware of that. The Director would like you to write up a critique of the overall training, how it assists you and what you think could be revamped. The two of you went through the training with different eyes. As veteran agents, at least in your case McGee, you bring a slightly different view to the training than a new hire or lateral transfer federal agent would. He wants to know if the training was helpful to someone who had already been working as an NCIS agent. I think he may want to begin an abbreviated training curriculum, as a refresher course or remedial training, as was the case with you and Agent David. I believe it was actually one of your critiques that gave him the idea."

McGee nodded and set about getting his computer squared away. He could hear Ziva mumbling quietly behind him, hearing the words, 'homework', 'kindergarten' and 'treated like a child'. He decided to ignore her and just do what he was told. He glanced over at Cooper, but couldn't tell if the man could hear Ziva or not. He appeared to be doing some paperwork of his own.

McGee sighed. He was going to be a long few months with Ziva only a few feet behind him.

/

The elevator dinged and the others could hear voices moving their way.

"...not gonna do that, Tony," Gibbs was saying, the amusement apparent in his voice.

"Oh, come on, Jethro. It'll do you good."

"No. You and Abby have fun, but I am not getting on a roller coaster with the two of you."

"You chicken, Marine?" DiNozzo teased, then bumped into Gibbs as the older man stopped short and turned around. McGee and Ziva, initially shocked that Tony had the tenacity to call Gibbs by his given name, were even more shocked when his smile only got bigger as Gibbs poked a finger into his chest.

"Gym. Now."

Tony just chuckled and nodded his head. Walking past Gibbs toward the back stairs and the gym, he winked at Nightwalker. "Hey, gorgeous, how about you bring your trainees down for some hand-to-hand."

"Tony, I keep telling you, flattery will get you nowhere with me," Cooper remarked, causing Tony to turn his way.

"Of course, Darius. I am so sorry. But, you are still the prettiest guy on the floor. Besides me, of course."

Nightwalker laughed and put the file she was reading in her desk, locking it up. "Okay, let's go, probies. Time for some physical training. You have ten minutes to get suited up and in the gym."

Cooper logged off and stood up, just as Tony stopped next to his desk. "I keep telling you, Anthony, my wife is a very jealous woman. And I dare say, she could take you."

"Heck, Coop, she could take _you_!"

Cooper nodded, a gleaming smile gracing his face. "Yes, yes she can. And she has many times. Oh, you're talking about hand-to-hand. Actually, she can take me there, too." Darius slapped Tony on the arm and walked away. "Let's go see what your probies learned at FLETC, DiNozzo."

"On your six, Cooper." He turned around, walking backwards. "Coming, Boss?"

"I'll be there in a few. Gonna check in with Vance first. Get everyone started, then you and I will meet in the ring," he said pointedly.

"Right, Boss."

"McGee! David! Shake it!" Cooper called from down the hall, his commanding voice harking back to his days as a Marine Drill Sergeant. The two probationary agents raced down the hall.

Gibbs turned to Nightwalker. "Well?"

"McGee seems to be taking his status in stride, knowing what he has to do to get back in good graces. David...is another story. I think she's gonna be a problem. But we'll see. It could be just that she didn't expect all this," she said, gestured around her. "She apparently didn't read the documents that Tony sent her. She didn't seem to be aware that she would be having a training officer."

Gibbs nodded. It was nothing he hadn't expected. It was one of the reasons he had DiNozzo send the information. She probably saw Tony's email address and dismissed it as unimportant. "Right. Well, she'd better change her way of thinking quickly, or she'll find herself out of a job. And if that happens, she'll have a hard time finding other federal employment." He smiled. "You know she's gonna try and drop you."

Melissa grinned, a bit of an evil glint in her eyes. "Yes, I know. It's what she gets for not reading the information Tony sent her. It had my background in there, detailing all my training. Won't she be surprised to learn that I know all of her Mossad moves?" She winked then walked away.

Gibbs watched her leave, with a smile on his face, before heading up the stairs to the Director's office.

/

Ziva grunted as she was once more slammed down onto the mat. "Where...did you...learn...to fight...like that?" she managed to ask between breaths.

"Same place you did, Agent David."

"I learned from Mossad."

"Yes, I know."

Ziva lifted up onto her elbows. Nightwalker was standing over her, a hand stretched out to help her up. "You were Mossad?" she asked, incredulous.

"Not hardly. I'm not Israeli. But I did train with them for a year during an exchange program while I was in the CIA."

Ziva accepted the hand up, then twisted her back to work the kinks out. "You are CIA? Gibbs hates the CIA."

"I _was_ CIA. And I hate them, too. That's why I am no longer CIA."

"Does Gibbs trust you?" she asked.

"He trusts me enough to train you."

"He no longer trusts me," Ziva said, her gaze falling to the floor.

"I know that, too. I can't say that I blame him after what you and McGee did." Ziva jerked her head back up.

"They told you?" she asked, surprised. Both men were intensely private, even though you wouldn't think that of Tony DiNozzo. He talked a lot, yet he never really said much that gave away any information about himself.

"They didn't have to. The scuttlebutt train was on overdrive when we got here." She elaborated when she noticed Ziva's confused look. "The rumors were flying all over this office. It wasn't hard to figure out what happened. But, yes, Gibbs did sit us down and explain exactly what happened. He wanted us to be aware of the reason why Tony would be so unwilling to trust us at first, and why it might take longer for us to earn that trust."

"Have you?"

"No, not completely. But we're working on it. Darius and I will be on teams that will be working out of this office. We need to be able to trust the other team leaders and agents, in the event we ever have to work a case with them. And they have to be able to trust us. We all want that and are working hard to forge that trust." She leaned in closer. "Just so you know, I won't let you derail that effort. You've made the job difficult enough already. Now, let's get back to work."

The two evenly matched women continued to spar with each other, eventually gaining a measure of respect for each other's skills.

On the other side of the gym, Cooper was testing McGee's skills with martial arts. Although the younger agent did have some basic instruction, Cooper was hoping to give him some additional training, and needed to see what McGee knew in order to know where to start.

"I was able to get some training from both Gibbs and Ziva in the past couple years, but we never did any in-depth training," McGee was telling him.

"Good. Hopefully, we'll be able to do a bit more while Mel and I are still with your team."

"Mel?"

"Melissa. Agent Nightwalker. She has a black-belt in tai-kwan-do. I'm a ju-jitsu instructor."

"I've thought about taking classes, but with our schedule, I would have a hard time going regularly."

"If you want, I can give you the name of my instructor. He's used to working with law enforcement personnel and can generally give you some one-on-one, so not being able to make classes won't be such a big deal. It'll be a bit more expensive, but if you're serious about learning, it'll be well-worth the cost."

"That'd be great, thanks."

As the two men began to spar, Tony and Jethro watched, with critical eyes, from the door of the locker room. Nothing they were seeing was a surprise. They'd both known that Ziva would take offense at having a training officer. And it was no surprise that McGee was doing everything that Cooper required of him.

Gibbs was content to leave the pair to their FTO's, at least for the moment. He'd brought Vance up to speed regarding the initial reactions of both agents to the changes they'd been subjected to upon their return to work. McGee hadn't seemed surprised, but Ziva had shown a continuing propensity for ignoring her Senior Field Agent, so obviously hadn't read any of the material he sent her about what would be happening when she returned.

Gibbs was not pleased with either McGee or Ziva, but his blind anger had diminished over the weeks they'd been gone. And before Nightwalker and Cooper had joined them, he and DiNozzo had returned to being a two-man team, like they had been before the late Kate Todd had joined their team.

Gibbs smiled. It had been fun with just the two of them again, like old times.

"What?" DiNozzo asked, seeing the grin on his boss' face.

Gibbs shook his head and sighed. "Just remembering what it was like being a two-man team again," he remarked.

"Ah, good times."

Gibbs slapped a hand against Tony's chest. "Let's show these rookies how it's done, shall we?"

Rubbing his chest, DiNozzo followed his boss. "Is that Gibbs-speak for 'you're gonna clean my clock'?" Gibbs just laughed in reply.

/

"McGee, bag and tag; David, shoot and sketch," DiNozzo ordered. As the two agents turned to grab the equipment to process the scene, Cooper and Nightwalker followed behind, overseeing the probationary agents, even though both McGee and Ziva were experienced in handling a crime scene. Gibbs stayed back, watching the interaction between his expanded team.

Once the hand-to-hand training had been completed and the group had reassembled, Gibbs had let McGee and Ziva know how things were going to work. He spelled out that both agents were on thin ice and couldn't afford any mistakes. He expected them to follow orders, do their jobs and not complain. And he made it plain that he meant following orders from not just him but DiNozzo, Cooper and Nightwalker as well. He also made it clear that he would give them only so much leeway.

While DiNozzo spoke with the witness who had discovered the body, Gibbs stepped up next to the Medical Examiner and his assistant. Dr. Mallard was standing nearby while Jimmy Palmer slid the liver probe into the Petty Officer's body. Ducky had been giving his protégé more responsibility at the scenes, so was merely observing as Palmer handled the body.

"Got a time of death for me, Palmer?" Gibbs asked, gaining a grin from Ducky.

"Between two and three this morning, Agent Gibbs."

"Cause of death?"

"I won't know for sure until we get him back to the Navy Yard, but he has deep bruising around the neck," Jimmy noted. "Initial cause appears to be strangulation, however I will need to do a more complete examination once we get him on the table."

"Good enough. Thanks."

"Of course, Agent Gibbs," Palmer replied, as he stood up. "I'll get the stretcher from the truck," he added, leaving the two senior members to watch him walk away.

The young M.E.'s assistant had begun to relax more around Gibbs over the last few months, as Gibbs discovered that he had been Tony's confidante during the upheaval after McGee and David were sent to re-training. During the time it had been just Gibbs and DiNozzo, Jethro had seen how the two younger men worked so well together, gaining a good deal of respect for Ducky's assistant. He'd also learned what a good friend Palmer had been to Tony when Gibbs had "retired" to Mexico.

And even though Jimmy still made some inappropriate comments at times, it reminded him a bit of DiNozzo when the former Baltimore cop had first joined NCIS. He could easily see Tony and Jimmy having the same kind of relationship in future years as Jethro had with Ducky. He hoped so, anyway. Tony needed someone like that in his life, just as Gibbs had needed it when he first came to NCIS. He watched as Tony approached Palmer, saying something to cause Jimmy to laugh. Gibbs smiled.

"Ya know, Duck. I think when you and I finally retire, we're going to be leaving NCIS in good hands."

Ducky was also watching Palmer and DiNozzo. "I agree, Jethro."

Gibbs patted the elderly doctor on the shoulder and returned to overseeing his team.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

Over the next month, McGee and Ziva began to realize just how tough a leader Tony DiNozzo could be. Tougher even than when Gibbs had left for Mexico and put him in charge. Both of them spent a great deal of time rooting through trash dumpsters, slogging through muddy river beds and doing all the dirty and grungy jobs that were a probie's special hell. They had daily and weekly evaluations from both Tony and their assigned trainers. Everything was noted, good and bad.

All four senior agents watched them closely, waiting for one or both of them to explode. Gibbs and DiNozzo, knowing the two junior agents best, knew it was only a matter of time before the constant scrutiny would lead to defiance and mutiny. Gibbs took on more of a supervisory role, allowing Tony to handle the day-to-day lead agent job, since he wanted to see how the two junior agents would respond to Tony giving orders to them every day. Jethro still responded on every call, but stayed in the background for the most part, overseeing all five of his agents, taking the opportunity to evaluate Cooper and Nightwalker as well has his own team.

But mostly, he kept his eye on David and McGee and their response to DiNozzo's orders.

_"__David, check the dumpster for evidence."_

_"__McGee, you need to check the crawl space of the house. The suspect might have thrown the weapon under there." _

_"__Yes, Agent David, we do have to sort through every room, under every bed, in every closet and in every drawer. And yes, I realize that this house is forty-two hundred square feet and we're looking for one single flash drive. It just means you'd better get started."_

_"__Do this report over again, McGee. You missed a few things. And no, I will not tell you what you missed, you'll need to figure it out yourself." _

_"__Ziva! Watch where you're stepping! You might trample evidence." _

It was difficult and exhausting, for both mind and body. But both Tim and Ziva had been told that it was their only chance to stay on the team. They knew that their punishment wasn't over yet. So they put up with it, although with differing degrees of graciousness. They really had no choice.

Ziva seemed to be having the most trouble accepting orders and instructions from DiNozzo or either of the trainers. After the third time in less than two days where she waited until Tony was occupied with something else before approaching Gibbs, the Lead Agent pulled both McGee and David into the conference room when they returned from a scene.

"Sit down," he ordered. After they took seats beside each other, Gibbs settled into a chair across from them. He didn't say anything for several minutes, sipping on his ever-present cup of coffee as he watch them become more and more uncomfortable with his silent scrutiny. Finally, when he felt he'd made them nervous enough to suit his purpose, he spoke up.

"One month back in the field," he began. "One month as probies. How do you feel it's working out?" When neither seemed inclined to answer, he sighed. "I need you to be honest with me. Nothing leaves this room, but I want to know how you both think you're doing."

McGee opened his mouth to start, but was interrupted by Ziva. "I feel that we have suffered enough punishment," she stated flatly. "Can we just get back to normal?"

Gibbs stared at her, taking another long sip of his coffee. He set the cup down and leaned forward. "And just what would normal be, Agent David?"

"You back in charge!" she exclaimed. "And Tony..." She stopped when McGee moved his chair slightly away from her. "What are you doing?" she asked him.

"Getting out of the line of fire," Tim replied, causing a slight tic of a smile to begin on Gibbs face. "Boss...speaking for myself...and only myself...I have been trying to do everything my trainers, Tony and you have asked me to do. I've been extra conscientious with my paperwork, making sure that Agent Cooper and Tony have double-checked it. I'm learning a lot from Agent Cooper...and from Tony. I've learned my lesson and believe that I've done, and plan to keep doing, what I need to do to get back to regular status whenever you see fit."

McGee heard Ziva mutter something under her breath, which sounded suspiciously like 'kiss ass', but ignored it. She had been harping at him for the last week to join her in imploring Gibbs to remove them from probationary status. McGee had refused, telling her that the more they complained, the longer it would take for them to lose the yoke of probation from around both their necks. He had also reminded her that Vance was the one who set the time frame for their probation, noting that Ziva was supposed to be probationary for an additional full year. It had only been a month!

Gibbs nodded, watching Ziva slyly while gesturing for McGee to continue. As Tim spelled out the things that he felt he'd learned during the last few months, both at FLETC and back with the team, Jethro saw the comprehension flicker across her face, as she realized what McGee was saying. He knew that she was about to lay down some deep bullshit, saying what she thought Gibbs wanted to hear.

Once McGee was finished, Ziva dropped her head, then took a deep breath and raised her eyes to meet Gibbs' uncompromising stare. "I, too, have learned much over the last few months, both at FLETC and back here at NCIS," she began. "I realize now that I should respect Tony as my senior agent and follow his instructions when in the field."

"You _should _respect Tony? _Should?_"

"Ah, um, I mean, I _do_ respect him. I respect him as my Senior Field Agent," she replied.

Gibbs swallowed the last of his coffee, crumbling the cup in his hand and tossed it into the trash can in the corner of the room, the cup sliding along the rim before dropping into the plastic bin. He folded his hands together on the table in front of him and looked back and forth between the two agents.

"Let's get one thing straight. I fully intend to turn this team over to DiNozzo when I retire. Tony has requested to stay on as my Senior Field Agent until that happens. He and I, with the full consent of Director Vance, will be leading the MCRT together until that time. And while I will have final say in any conflict, make no mistake, DiNozzo will take the lead more and more over the next couple of years. By the time I reach mandatory retirement age in five years, Tony will have assumed full leadership of the team, and I will have taken on more of a consultant position. If either of you have any problems with that, tell me now and I'll approve your transfer to another team. Assuming any of them are willing to have you. But if you stay, and I see any issues of insubordination, I will fire your asses faster than you can blink."

When neither said anything, he continued. "Tony DiNozzo is one of the best agents I've ever worked with, and the only one I would willingly turn this team over to, because I know that he will maintain the high standards and the excellent closure rate we've had since he joined me. I will not tolerate any disrespect of him in the future. If issues come up between you and DiNozzo that you don't feel comfortable bringing up with Tony directly, you will bring them to me and I will deal with them as needed. But if it comes down to you or him, Tony won't be the one leaving this team. Is that understood?"

"Yes, boss," McGee answered directly, nodding his head to reiterate his understanding. Gibbs nodded at his quick response, but was irked at the delay from Ziva David.

"McGee, you can leave." He waited for Tim to close the door behind him. "You have anything to say, Ziva?"

It took a long minute, but she finally looked up. "Why Tony? Why is he...why do you...?"

Gibbs sighed. "Ziva...you see only the surface of Tony DiNozzo. You see what he wants you to see. And you refuse to see anything else. You think you know him because of the research you did for Ari and you have pegged him into a hole without really knowing him. You've had five years to get to know him better, but you still refuse to look beyond the surface."

"He is the class clown..." she began.

"Yes, he is...at times. And I admit that there are times when that irritates me and I want to put a boot in his ass. But when the job calls for it, he buckles down and does what needs to be done. I have seen the best and the worst of Tony DiNozzo. And trust me, the best far outweighs the worst. I will always put up with his class clown act because the majority of time I get the good agent."

Ziva didn't reply, but Gibbs could tell that she was thinking about his words. He gave her a minute, then stood up. "For what it's worth, Tony wants to keep this team as it is. It was difficult for him to report you for what you did. He lost sleep debating with himself whether to just let it go or not. But he was right to report you, even though the only reason he did was because he feared that you'd do that same thing to another agent. He thought he deserved your disrespect and lack of support, but didn't want any other agent to get hurt because he didn't report what you did."

When she looked back up at him, he saw that she was thinking about his words. "You and McGee kept your jobs because Tony stood up for you. When the Director and I were discussing our options about how to handle the situation, termination of your employment was on the list."

The realization of how close she came to losing her job finally hit home. The disconcerting look on her face when she finally comprehended that one of the reasons she was not currently unemployed was due to the benevolence of Tony DiNozzo caused Gibbs to chuckle. When she made eye contact again, the only thing he said was, "Now, I think you're finally beginning to understand."

He stood up and walked out of the room, leaving her there to wonder if she would ever fit in on the team again.

/

Leaving their latest crime scene, McGee and David were relegated to riding in the back of the crime scene truck, since both were covered in dirt and debris from slogging through the muddy field searching for evidence. Nightwalker was going over their notes while Cooper drove the big vehicle back to the Navy Yard. Before their training officers had entered the vehicle, Ziva had closed the window between the front seat and the rear of the truck so she could vent to McGee without being overheard.

"I still do not understand why we could not ride back with Gibbs and Tony," Ziva groused.

"Do you really think Gibbs was going to let us in his car as dirty as we are?" McGee asked, a look of disgust on his face as he wiped his hands on his jeans, only to realize the jeans were no cleaner than his hands.

"Then our trainers could have ridden with Gibbs and I could have driven the truck back," she stated.

McGee sighed. "We're not allowed to drive the truck," he reminded her. "Gibbs banned us from driving any NCIS vehicle unless it's an emergency, because you almost hit his car last week." McGee still didn't understand why he had been banned from driving when it was Ziva who had almost crashed. Guilt by association, he assumed, since he'd been in the vehicle with her when it happened.

He leaned his head back against the side of the truck and closed his eyes, in a futile attempt to tune out Ziva's bitching. He really was getting tired of listening to her continuous complaints and tried to keep himself separated from all her drama. But she didn't make it easy, since usually the only time she complained was when the rest of the team couldn't hear her-which of course meant that McGee was always on the receiving end of her discourse.

He jerked when he felt a pain in his leg and realized that Ziva had kicked him. He reached down, rubbing the area and glared at her.

"What the hell did you do that for?" he asked.

"You were not listening to me," she declared.

"You've done nothing but complain since we got in the truck. It's not like you're saying anything new."

She glared at him. "We need to do something! We..."

"No! WE don't need to do anything," he insisted. "If you want to complain, fine, but don't bring me in on it. We're both a very short leash here."

"We are not dogs!"

He shook his head. "It means we don't have a lot of leeway to make mistakes. If you want to continue complaining, feel free. Just don't expect me to join in. I would really like to stay on the MCRT and bitching about our punishment is not going to make that any easier. In fact, it might just force them to transfer or fire us! I like my job. So don't include me in your complaints."

"We have been through FLETC! We have had to endure weeks of the worst jobs possible! Enough is enough! I am tired of Tony playing at being the boss!"

"Ziva, have you been listening to anything lately? Tony isn't playing, neither is Gibbs," McGee reminded her. "Face it, we screwed up! We need to make amends for what we did…"

"We were unjustly punished, McGee!"

Tim slammed his hand down on the seat next to him. "No, we weren't. We were wrong. We screwed up and could have been fired! Why can't you understand that?! We're lucky that nothing happened to Tony. We're damn lucky that Gibbs gave us a second chance. I don't plan to waste it. So please, just shut up and do your job! If you still think you didn't deserve this, then take it up with Gibbs or Vance. But leave me out of it!"

With that, McGee shut his eyes and once again leaned back against the side of the truck. He could hear Ziva muttering softly and tried to ignore her. He decided that he was going to speak to Agent Cooper when they got back, to see if he could figure out a way for Tim to spend less time with Ziva on the job.

In the front seat, Cooper and Nightwalker exchanged a look, part satisfaction, part disappointment. The small window between them and the two junior agents wasn't as soundproofed as Ziva might have thought. They'd heard everything said between the two, and while they were glad to note that McGee was standing up to David, Ziva was digging the hole deeper and deeper for herself.

/

Tony came out of the men's restroom, only to stop short to prevent crashing into Ziva. Tony thought to himself that this was an improvement. At least she didn't come_ into_ the restroom, this time. "Something you need, Agent David?"

"Can we discuss this?" Ziva asked him.

"Discuss what?"

"Ending this…punishment."

"No, we can't discuss it." Tony started to walk away.

"Why are you being so stubborn?" She wanted to just hit him, she was so frustrated.

Tony rolled his eyes. "I'm not stubborn, I'm pissed. And your attitude isn't helping to change that."

"I just do not understand why we cannot return to the way things were. Just tell Gibbs you are happy with McGee and I."

"So, you want me to lie to Gibbs?" Tony asked sarcastically. "Because that's what it would be, a lie. A big, fat, whopping one."

"You are impossible," Ziva growled.

"We both lost faith and trust in you and McGee. Tim is working his butt off to regain that trust. You just keep playing your games and pretending that you're doing what's expected of you. But that's all it is to you…just a game. I thought we were friends. I thought we were partners. You betrayed me, a member of Gibbs' team. And that means, you betrayed Gibbs. You know how he feels about that. Now, I can forgive and forget, if the person who did wrong is sincere about trying to make things better. I'm just not sure that you are. You'd best decide pretty quickly just where you want your life to go. My patience is running out."

With that, DiNozzo stepped around her and started walking down the hall. "Wait!" she called out. He stopped and turned to look at her. When she didn't say anything, he just shook his head and started to walk away again. She chased after him and grabbed his arm, halting his progress down the hall. "Can we…can we talk?" she asked.

After what seemed like an eternity, he nodded and gestured to a door behind her. They entered the empty conference room. Tony closed the door, but didn't notice that it didn't catch. Nor did either of them notice Gibbs stopping outside the door, having followed Ziva when she left the floor only minutes after Tony.

Tony sat down, while Ziva paced back and forth for several minutes before she too sat down, across the table from him.

"I…I don't understand why…"

"Why what?" he asked, quietly.

"Why was it such a big deal? You didn't get hurt. Everything was fine!"

Tony smiled sadly. "Yes, it was fine in that nothing happened except me getting a little hoarse. It was never about what did..or _didn't..._ happen. It was about what _could_ have happened."

When she still looked confused, he continued. "You know that I was a cop before I came to NCIS." She nodded. "There were times, as a police officer, when I responded to a call, thinking I was going to a fight call, but it turned out to be something totally different. Or it escalated when we got on scene. We'd go to a loud party call and we'd end up in the middle of a gang shootout. Ziva, back-up is there for what _might_ happen. As I was going from house to house, I never knew who was going to be behind each door. Even if I didn't meet our terrorist, the person on the other side might be someone who deals drugs…or beats his wife and kids…or had just committed murder…"

"Tony, really! This was an upper class neighborhood…"

"And what? You don't think child abuser and killers could live there? Ziva, a terrorist lived there," he pointed out. "A man who had already killed three people...a man who was ready to blow up a bunch of kids playing baseball and their families."

The look on her face gave him some hope that she was finally getting it.

"The point is," he continued, "that you never know what's behind that door. It doesn't even have to be a bad guy. It could be a woman who was raped the night before and now she's paranoid when she's hears a knock on the door, so carries a weapon with her when she opens the door. It could be a ten-year old left home alone and scared, so finds his daddy's gun to protect himself." He shook his head. "I could give you a thousand scenarios. And each one of them has happened to some cop somewhere. You have to be prepared for anything. And that means having someone to back you up if you get in trouble."

She leaned forward and clasped her hands together. "We would not have been able to prevent something like that happening!"

"No, you wouldn't have been able to prevent it," he agreed. "But you would have been there to make sure it didn't get worse…to make sure I got help…and to make sure the bad guy didn't get away. Back-up isn't always about preventing something from happening. It's about being there to help, to maybe prevent an innocent from being hurt as well. To keep it from getting worse."

"I just don't understand why you didn't just tell us...why make a formal complaint? Why put us through all the training and humiliation? You could have just sat us down and explained that to us."

Tony frowned. That glimmer of understanding he thought she'd grasped just disappeared. "I shouldn't have had to sit you down and explain what it means to back up your partner, Ziva! We have worked together for years. Don't put it on me that you haven't been paying attention!"

He stood up to leave, then turned around as he reached the door. He moved over to where she sat and leaned down, one hand on the table and one on the back of her chair. "And the worst part is that you thought it was a joke. You thought that the possibility of me being hurt, or even killed, was something to laugh about." He stood up and stared down at her. "That...that is just not something that I will ever forget. And I'm trying very hard to forgive. And believe me, that is not easy. How do I forgive you for that?"

"I am sorry," Ziva said quietly. "We never meant..."

"Never meant what? For me to find out? For me to live through the day?"

"NO!" she cried. "We never...we would not risk your life..."

"But you did."

She slumped back. "Yes," she whispered. "Yes, we did."

Tony reached back and grabbed another chair, pulling over next to Ziva's. "Do you get it now? Do you understand why I might find it hard to trust you?"

When she looked at him, he was surprised to find tears in her eyes. "Yes," she said, her voice cracking. "We were wrong."

"Yes, you were. But you have the chance to make it right. You just have to be willing to swallow your pride." He put a hand on her shoulder. "For what it's worth, I have faith in you. I think you can do this."

"Will... will things go back to normal...if...when..."

"Ah, Ziva. Things won't ever go back to the way they were. What you see now," he said, gesturing to himself, "is the real me. I'm not the womanizing, frat boy, class clown that I used to pretend to be. From now on, what you see, is what you get. We've all had to grow up, including me. I can't be that guy anymore. But we can still be friendly. And we can still be a great team. But in order for me to be your boss in the future, I have to start on that journey now. I just hope you and McGee can accept that it has to be this way from now on. If you can't, this will never work."

Ziva just nodded, but didn't reply. Tony squeezed her shoulder and stood up, leaving her in the room as he headed back to the bullpen, allowing her time to think about their conversation. She looked down at the table as he walked out, lost in thought.

Gibbs watched his SFA go back to work. He'd heard the entire conversation and now it was his turn. It was his job to make sure that his agents were not just physically prepared for the job, but mentally as well. He realized that he'd not done what he needed to do for Ziva David and now he was playing catch up.

"Ziva, come with me." She looked up and glanced around, seemingly surprised that Tony was gone. "Come on," Gibbs said. She followed him out of the room and down the hall.

Ziva was surprised when Gibbs headed for the exit. She followed silently as he purchased a large black coffee for himself and a cup of tea, handing the latter to her. Once she'd added sugar to her drink, he steered her to an out-of-the-way bench and sat down. She briefly hesitated before dropping down next to him.

"So," he began, "it seems like you still have a problem with DiNozzo."

She shouldn't have been surprised that he'd come straight to the point, but she was. And she wasn't sure how to answer him. She debated whether to be equally blunt and straightforward or try to give him the answer she thought would placate him. In the end, her deliberation was answer enough for Gibbs.

"So, exactly what is your biggest issue with Tony?" he asked.

She took a sip of her tea as she tried to formulate an answer, finally deciding to just speak what was on her mind.

"I am not sure that I trust him anymore."

Gibbs didn't immediately respond, but when he did, he only asked, "Why?"

Ziva almost smiled at the seemingly innocuous question. Why? The question itself was harmless. The answer-not so much.

"I...It is really...he..."

"Just say it, Ziva."

"Michael," was her short reply. The name held so much pain for her. The death of Michael Rivkin had revealed her father's duplicity, which in turn led her on a horrific journey that ended in a terrorist camp in Somalia.

Gibbs knew that Tony still carried a great deal of guilt about Ziva's capture and torture in that camp. Jethro carried his own guilt for leaving her to be the victim of her father's machinations. In hindsight, he should have dragged her onto that plane and figured something out once they got back to American soil.

Shoulda. Coulda. Woulda. The story of his life.

He took a long sip of his coffee, watching some joggers running down a nearby path. "You still feel that Tony was wrong?"

"He did not have to kill him," she insisted.

"Tell me something, Ziva," he said, turning to face her. "Rivkin was Kidon, well trained?"

"Of course. Kidon are the best trained fighters in the world," she boasted.

"Even drunk?"

"Yes, even drunk," she said, barely keeping the sneer off her face.

"Even with a large shard of glass in his abdomen?"

She rolled her eyes. "Kidon are trained to ignore pain in order to finish the mission," she declared with pride and superiority.

"So, even drunk and injured, Michael Rivkin was a dangerous man, lethal."

"Of course," she stated.

"And DiNozzo, injured, having trouble breathing from Rivkin trying to strangle him, what chance did he have against this Kidon-trained operative?"

"None," she replied, almost gleefully. "He does not have nearly enough training to withstand an attack by Kidon."

Gibbs didn't reply, only watched and waited to see what conclusion she would come to. When she just leaned back and sipped her tea, he just shook his head.

"I am going to ask you some questions and I don't want any immediate answers. I want you to take your time and think about everything that's happened since you came here. Ask yourself why you first came to the U.S. Why did you stay? Why accept Jenny's offer? Why are you here now? Why did you come back here after Somalia and not return to Israel and Mossad? Why did you want to be an American citizen? What would have happened if Tony hadn't shot Michael? Would you have preferred it if Michael had lived and Tony had died?"

Gibbs stood up and walked away, leaving Ziva to ponder the questions he had posed. She began to think back to when she first arrived in this country, what her mission was and how things had changed. How she had changed.

An hour later, Ziva called her boss and asked permission to take the rest of the day off. Being Thursday, Gibbs suggested that she take a long weekend and told her to return on Monday morning.

"And Ziva...my door is always open," he reminded her.


	8. Chapter 8

/

**CHAPTER 8**

Monday morning, Ziva got in early, before everyone except Gibbs, and she only knew he was there because is jacket was on the back of his chair. She powered up her computer and began going through her emails, something to do while she waited for her team to show up. She had taken the time over the long weekend to get away from the city to do some serious soul-searching. She had driven down the coast to Virginia Beach and spent some quiet time on the beach, getting some sun and thinking about everything that the others had been telling her since her suspension and retraining.

As she watch the families cavort on the beach, kids building sand castles and jumping in the surf, laughing and playing, she remembered her own childhood and the constant fear of bombs exploding and men shooting. The death of her sister, Tali, was still the most painful moment in her life, but not the only one. She'd lost friends as a child, she'd lost Michael. She'd had to shoot her own brother to save Gibbs' life, something she was sure would connect her and the former Marine forever.

She had begun to relax here in America, which was one of the main reasons that she'd decide to become an American citizen, to leave Mossad behind. Oh, she would always love her native land and would visit often, if only to see her father. But she had come to love her adopted country as well. The freedom to go where she pleased, to not always have to look over her shoulder, or be wary of people passing by-it was a freedom she never thought she could achieve. And she embraced it.

But now all of that was threatened because of Tony DiNozzo. Because he could not handle a bit of playful payback. It was just ridiculous that she was being treated like some child, being told exactly what to do and how to do it, when she'd been doing this job for years! If she had been an agent the whole time, she likely would already be leading her own team. And DiNozzo would still be languishing as Gibbs' Senior Field Agent.

She wasn't surprised when she heard the elevator ding and Gibbs walked off with a large cup of coffee in hand, followed by DiNozzo. Tony was laughing at something, while Gibbs just shook his head as he made his way to his desk, not even trying to hide the smile behind his cup, as he often had done in the past.

Ziva watched the two men approach, marveling at the new camaraderie she'd observed between them since she'd returned from her forced banishment. It was easy to see that the two men were friends. Over the last few weeks, she'd overheard several comments in the break room, in the hallways and the restroom, that the change in Gibbs was welcome, many of the agents never having seen him smile so much.

And the teasing banter between the two men, some of which she'd witnessed herself, wasn't something she'd seen much of in the past. Ducky had mentioned that it reminded him of when Tony had first come to NCIS, when Gibbs and DiNozzo had been a two-man team. Ziva couldn't help but wonder how they'd managed to get all their cases solved with just the two of them. But Ducky, and Abby, assured her that they had, with only an occasional assist from other teams.

Although she would never admit it to anyone, she felt jealous of the closeness that she saw now between the two men. She once had that closeness with Gibbs...or thought she did, anyway. This Gibbs was more relaxed and open...at least with Tony he was. They seemed more like equals now than boss and subordinate. And it angered her that she had, in the past, considered herself Gibbs' equal, in skills at least. She often wondered who would win in a knock-down-drag-out fight between her and her boss.

But he was different now. Or maybe, this was the real Jethro Gibbs. She wondered if this was how Gibbs was when his wife and daughter were alive. He was quicker to smile and joke with not only Tony, but Cooper and Nightwalker. He was reserved with her and McGee, and she could still discern the disappointment in his features, not something she'd seen very often in her life.

Over the long weekend, she had asked herself several times whether she was willing to admit to being wrong, in order to stay on this team. She had gone back and forth, debating whether she was ready to admit she had made a mistake. Yes, they had turned off the radio, but nothing had happened. On the other hand, yes, something bad could have occurred, and DiNozzo could have been hurt or killed.

She kept coming back to the question Gibbs had asked her.

_Why had she first came to the U.S. Why did she stay? Why accept Jenny's offer? Why was she still here now? Why did she come back here after Somalia and not return to Israel and Mossad? Why did she want to be an American citizen? What would have happened if Tony hadn't shot Michael? Would she have preferred it if Michael had lived and Tony had died?"_

Ziva had finally admitted, at least to herself, that she had loved Michael Rivkin. She had been angry when her father had been forced to admit that he'd sent Michael on his mission to America. But that didn't mean that he had bedded Ziva as part of his mission. It did not mean that Michael's feelings were any less real. It did not mean that Ziva loved Michael any less.

_What would have happened if Tony hadn't shot Michael? _

The guilt came back with a vengeance. If only she had told Gibbs just how well she knew Michael. If she had just driven faster, got there before the fight started. If she called for Michael's extraction sooner. If Tony had just not fired. If…if…if.

_Would she have preferred it if Michael had lived and Tony had died?"_ That was the question she had the most trouble with.

What if Tony had been killed instead of ….

"Ziva!"

She jerked out of her thoughts to find Tony standing next to her desk.

"What!?" she asked, angry had being caught daydreaming.

Tony took a step back. "Whoa! No need to be hostile," he said. "We have a case. Get your gear."

Ziva looked around. The others were already heading toward the elevator, backpacks over their shoulders. She grabbed her pack and chased after the others who were just stepping on the elevator. Looking around she didn't see her boss.

"Where is Gibbs?'

"Busy," Tony said, punching the button for the garage level. "We'll be handling this one without him."

He looked her way and she wondered if he was waiting for her to remark on that. She wasn't going to give him that satisfaction, so she just nodded and turned to look forward.

/

"This is ridiculous! Why are we being kept in the dark?"

They had been back in the Yard for over an hour. Darius and McGee were logging all of the evidence, while Ziva and Nightwalker were tasked with beginning the searches on the victim. Tony had been called up to MTAC as soon as they'd arrived back in the office and had yet to return.

Melissa had been watching Ziva as she would do a search, then glance up the stairs to the door of MTAC. Tony hadn't said what the operation was that was so secret, only giving them their orders before heading up the stairs and letting himself through the security door.

"Need to know," Mel said. "Obviously we don't need to know at the moment. I'm sure if they need us, they'll tell us."

"Does this not bother you? All this secrecy?"

Nightwalker shook her head. "Not particularly. You forget, I once worked for the CIA. They are masters at keeping secrets. Most of the time I was glad of that."

"Our Team Leader and Senior Field Agent are both locked away, doing who knows what, and not telling us anything. We could help!"

"I'm sure if there was something going on that needed our expertise, they would contact us. They could just be watching an op by another team."

"And if they are not?"

"Then they'll expect us to have something for them when they get back," Melissa said, gesturing for Ziva to continue the searches she'd been tasked with.

But Ziva just couldn't sit still. She began to pace back and forth, talking to herself…arguing with herself.

She was muttering in Hebrew, but so quietly that Nightwalker was only able to pick up a word here and there.

It seemed like the weekend off, to think, hadn't done much good. Melissa was watching her, waiting for the inevitable explosion. And she didn't have to wait long. Finally Ziva stopped and faced the stairs, hands at her side, clenched into fists, her eyes on the MTAC door.

"We went through three months of training at FLETC, learning things we already knew. Then we came back here and for the last few weeks every move we make has been watched and scrutinized. Our reports gone over and returned for the tiniest of mistakes."

"As it would be for any new agent," Mel remarked.

Ziva spun around to face her trainer, who was leaning on DiNozzo's desk. On _her_ desk, damn it!

"We are not new! We know what we are doing!"

"That's not the point," Nightwalker said calmly.

"Then what is the point?! Why are we being treated like rookies?"

"Because you acted like rookies," another voice interjected. Both women turned to see DiNozzo entering the work area and slipping behind his desk.

"We did nothing that you have not done to us...we pulled a prank," Ziva said angrily.

Tony froze as he was reaching for a file in his desk drawer, then shook his head and sighed.

"You still don't get it, Ziva. I have never pulled any prank on you or McGee while we were in the field. I never put your lives in danger. You left me without backup. If something had happened..."

"But it did not," the ex-Mossad officer insisted.

"But it could have! That is the whole point of having backup. You are there to back me up IF I NEED IT. For God's sake, Ziva! We were searching for a terrorist! One who had already killed three people. If I had knocked on his door and he'd become suspicious, he could have killed me, too. And you never would have known!"

"He would not have expected someone like you of being an agent," she declared.

"Someone like me." He smiled and shook his head. "Aside from the fact that sounds rather derogatory, how do you know that our terrorist wasn't watching the radio station when we arrived? He would have seen us all and possibly been able to recognize any of us."

Ziva frowned, wondering why he thought the terrorist was watching them. Why would the criminal stick around?

Tony moved around his desk, holding the file he'd come to get. "Some bad guys like to watch response times of emergency personnel," he said, as if he'd read her mind. "Sometimes they like to watch all the excitement as a way to re-live their crime or to make note of how to do it better next time." He started to walk away, heading back up the stairs to MTAC.

"Where are you going?" Ziva asked. "I was not finished."

"Well, for the moment, I am. Gibbs wants this file."

"Yes," she said snidely. "Always using Gibbs as an excuse when you do not like the truth. Go on then, run away," she said with a flip of her hand. She wasn't prepared for Tony to spin around and stop right in front of her.

"Agent David, you're skating on thin ice right now," he hissed, his eyes glittering in anger. "If you wish to discuss this, we can do so once I've given this," he raised the file in his hand, "to Gibbs. And we will do it off the floor."

She smirked. "Why? Are you afraid to discuss this openly? I have no problems with discussing things here." She indicated the room with a sweep of her hand. She didn't notice Darius and Tim returning from Abby's lab, nor did she seem to notice she was drawing attention from all the other agents and staff in the room. Calls were being made by the spectators to Gibbs and the Director.

"Fine. We'll do it your way. You have been given every chance to show that you still want to be a part of this team. And you're about to blow it," Tony told her.

Ziva frowned. "I have done everything I have been ordered to do!" she insisted.

Tony nodded. "Yes, after whining and complaining about it, you've done it. After bitching about every order that was given to you by anyone who wasn't named Gibbs."

"Gibbs is my team leader!"

"And I am your Senior Field Agent," he reminded her. "Agents Nightwalker and Cooper outrank you. That means that you are required to take orders from any one of us."

"That is inefficient! There should only be one leader on a team. In Mossad…"

Tony leaned in, getting so close their noses nearly touched. "You are no longer in Mossad. You are an NCIS agent. We don't follow Mossad rules. You have been told by your Team Leader that you WILL follow orders from me, Mel and Darius. Unless those orders contradict something that Gibbs told you to do, then you WILL follow those orders. Is that clear?"

Ziva smirked, ready to make a smart, and scathing, remark, figuring that DiNozzo would back down as he always had in the past. She knew that he secretly feared her, envied her training and discipline. She could use that to her advantage.

But then DiNozzo did something he had never done before. He not only didn't back down, but he took a step forward, further into her personal space, making her take a step back. "Is…that…clear?" he asked again, his eyes as cold as granite.

A small tingle of fear slid down her spine. She'd never seen this side of Tony DiNozzo and wasn't sure what to make of it. And she wasn't sure she liked it either. She decided to pretend to acquiesce until she could get her bearings again and figure out how to deal with this new DiNozzo. So she took a step back and took a deep breath before she replied.

Glancing down, she said, "Yes, I understand. I am sorry for…well for everything. I will try to do better."

Tony, of course, didn't believe of word of it. "You're quickly running out of time, David. Gibbs has laid out the rules for you, but somehow I don't think you believe what he's told you. Let me remind you of something. You once gave Jethro an ultimatum." He smiled at the shocked look on her face. "What, you don't think he told me what you asked him to do on that tarmac in Israel? If you had come back, I guarantee, it wouldn't have been me looking for a new team."

"You do not know that!" she insisted.

"Yes, I do. You had withheld important information about Michael Rivkin. You lied to Gibbs about him."

"I did no such thing!" she insisted. "He never asked how well I knew him."

"Yet, you know that was information that he wanted, that he needed. Then you went to meet Rivkin after lying to Gibbs about your relationship."

She shook her head, smirk in full force. "You have always been jealous..." she began.

"Bullshit! I have never been jealous of anyone you have gone out with. Any interest I've shown in the people you date has purely been for your safety! So, don't push that crap on me! As attractive as you are, you're not my type and you never were. You have this image of yourself as a femme fatale. And while you certainly have the lethality and the looks, I have never had the desire to be your target. But I have tried to be your partner and your friend. I went there to talk to you, to try and save you from the repercussions of the crap with Rivkin. Michael Rivkin died because he refused to obey Gibbs' orders, and mine, to leave the country. He was killing people here...he was likely responsible for the death of a Federal Agent! And he tried to kill me! "

"He was Kidon..."

"Yes, he was. He was also drunk. Sober, I probably would not have been able to defeat him. Even drunk, he was still highly trained and a danger to me. I did what I had to do to stay alive!"

"He loved me," she said, with a quiet intensity.

"He loved you on your father's orders," Tony declared.

"No..." she denied.

Tony sighed. "Ziva, you heard your father. Rivkin was following orders."

"No." She shook her head. She had never wanted to believe that. Her eyes were tightly closed, as if that would negate everything that DiNozzo was saying.

Tony had often wondered if she'd ever come to terms with the fact that her own father had betrayed her, not only during the whole Rivkin debacle, but possibly also after she was taken prisoner by the terrorist. He also wondered if her father had known all along that she was alive and sacrificed her as he had his son, or if he'd assumed she'd died on the Damocles, as NCIS had initially thought. She had a lot of baggage, more even than he did with his crappy childhood. At least he'd never been tortured by a terrorist.

Her need to control everything in her life was not conducive with being a junior member of a team. And she was even junior to McGee, which likely didn't sit well with her, either.

"DiNozzo."

Tony turned to find Gibbs and Vance both standing on the mezzanine above them. Gibbs motioned for Tony to join him. Climbing the stairs, Tony missed the glances exchanged by Vance and Gibbs. When Gibbs walked away toward MTAC with Tony, Vance continued to stare down at Ziva. Then he turned to look back over this shoulder at the MTAC door, shook his head and walked away.

Ziva smiled, Vance's action giving her a sense of security. He wouldn't jeopardize his relationship with her father for the likes of Tony DiNozzo. She turned, only to find the rest of the team frowning at her. Tim looked disgusted and turned away, talking to Darius about a report. Melissa just looked at Ziva in disappointment.

"What?" Ziva asked.

Melissa opened her mouth to say something, then shook her head. "Never mind. There wouldn't be any point."

/


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

"I'm sorry, Jethro," Tony said as soon as he and Gibbs were in MTAC. Gibbs held up a hand to Tony and motioned all the personnel out of the room. Then he turned back to Tony.

"About what? That little dust-up with Ziva?"

"Yeah, well, if Vance thought I was 'verbally attacking' McGee, I can just imagine what he thought ofthat little argument. She just…" Tony looked defeated. "Gibbs, I don't think I'll ever be able to trust her again. I've tried to explain to her why what she and Tim did was a problem, but it's like talking to a brick wall. She either can't or won't understand. The thought of going back out in the field with her…"

"You remember what I told you when this all started?" Gibbs asked. "That if you feel that you can't trust them, they're gone? That still holds. I've seen what's been going on. And although you've been trying, she hasn't. She's been pretending, and not very well. I'd planned to talk to you as soon as we were through here. I've already discussed it with Vance. Even before what I just witnessed, Ziva was still being insubordinate and argumentative when she thought no one else was around. I don't feel I can trust her, either. She's going to get someone hurt or killed, and I'm not willing to risk that. So, that's it. She's done here."

Tony sighed deeply, feeling like the weight of the world had been lifted off him. He felt Gibbs squeeze his shoulder. He looked up at his boss and friend, seeing the same sad expression he knew was on his own face. Gibbs shook his head at Tony. "We tried, Tony. We gave her every opportunity to learn from her mistakes. Probably more than we should have. She obviously doesn't care to learn from them."

Tony snorted. "She doesn't think she's made any." Gibbs considered his SFA's observation, then nodded. Tony was right.

"What are your feelings about Tim?" Gibbs inquired.

"Ah, Tim. He gets it. He understands that he screwed up. He understands why it was such an issue. And he's been doing everything that's been asked of him." Tony smiled as he remembered the conversation that Mel and Darius had repeated back to him and Gibbs about the discussion McGee had with David in the back of the truck. "And he's learned to stand up for himself. I don't think I'm the only that has surprised Ziva lately."

"I'd have to agree. You've changed. Tim's changed. Even I've changed. Seems like the only one not willing or able to change is Ziva. So we're gonna stop hitting our heads against that particular brick wall." With that, he went to ask the personnel to return and they got on with their business.

After they were done in MTAC, Gibbs and Tony both went directly to Vance's office. His secretary waved them in.

"Leon," Gibbs greeted him.

The Director sighed as he leaned back in his chair and gestured for both men to have a seat. "I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this, Gibbs. I was hoping she'd learn. Apparently, that's beyond her." He pulled out a new toothpick and put it in his mouth.

"Sir," Tony began, "about what happened downstairs…"

Vance stopped him. "It was obvious that David was determined to have a confrontation, DiNozzo. I've already heard that you tried to walk away. But once she started that confrontation, as the Senior Field Agent, you needed to deal with it. And you did. Nothing more needs to be said."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." Tony was relieved at the Director's words.

"Now we have to deal with the fallout. Gibbs, I want you and David to come back here in thirty minutes. At that time, she will be notified of her termination of employment. I have been working on some options for her, but she has to be willing to go along."

"Yes, sir," Gibbs said. He turned to his SFA. "Tony, once she and I have come up here, I want you and the rest of the team, including Abby, Ducky and Palmer, to go to lunch together. Keep them all out of the building until I call you to give the all clear. I don't want any of you to have to deal with her once she finds out."

"Agreed," Vance said. "I'll make sure security is standing by to escort her not only from the building, but off the base." He looked at DiNozzo. "Give me the name of the restaurant you'll be eating at. I'll call ahead to make sure the bill and tip are covered by the agency." Tony named a restaurant that the whole team enjoyed and provided their phone number to the Director.

"Do I tell the rest of the team what's happening?" Tony asked. "They'll want to know where Gibbs and Ziva are."

"Just tell them we had a conference with the Director," Gibbs instructed. "Truthfully, I think Abby will probably be the only who might ask. I think the rest of the team will have an idea what's up."

"All right, then," Vance said. "I'll see you and David in thirty minutes." Both men nodded and left the office.

Once they got to the hallway, they separated, going in different directions. Gibbs headed to his desk to finish up some paperwork. Meanwhile, Tony headed to the carpool to sign out a van so everyone could go to lunch together. Then he stopped by Abby's lab and Autopsy to let Abby, Ducky and Palmer know to be ready to head to lunch in a bit. No one questioned the reasoning. They seemed content to accept the offer of a lunch out of the building.

Tony had not yet returned when Gibbs stood up and touched Ziva on the shoulder. When she looked up, he silently beckoned her to follow him. The two went up the stairs and into Vance's office. Gibbs closed the door behind him.

"Agent David, have a seat," Vance instructed. Ziva sat down, a confused look upon her face. She did, expecting Gibbs to take the chair next to her. However, he moved over to stand next to Vance's desk.

"So, give me your observations of how things have been going, Agent David."

She smiled at Vance before replying. "First, Director, I would like to apologize for the scene downstairs. I am afraid that I let my frustration get the best of me. I should not have argued with Agent DiNozzo."

"So, what is it that has you so frustrated?" he asked.

She glanced quickly at Gibbs, but was unable to read his expression. Turning back to Vance, said, "Well, Director, I just feel that the punishment that Agent McGee and I have been forced to endure is excessive." She glanced again at Gibbs. "I am sorry, Gibbs, but I feel we...at least, I, have proven myself. I would like to be returned to regular agent status."

When Gibbs began to step toward her, Vance put up his hand. To his surprise, Gibbs actually stopped and took a deep breath, moving to sit on the sofa across the room. He was slightly behind Ziva at that point, and she kept glancing over her shoulder. Gibbs nearly grinned at her obvious discomfort.

Vance leaned forward in his chair, folding his hands on the desk in front of him. "Was it or was it not explained to you when you returned that you would be on probationary status for an additional year?" he asked. When she nodded, he continued. "And were you not told that you would be under intense scrutiny when you returned?"

"Yes," she answered, almost meekly, glancing once again over her shoulder at her boss, as if expecting him to intervene on her behalf. "We have been watched every second by our training officers and by Agent DiNozzo."

Vance cleared his throat, to draw David's attention back to him. "I've got to tell you, I'm very disappointed." He held up a hand when she opened her mouth to reply. "When you returned from your suspension and training, it was spelled out to you very plainly that you would be required to follow orders from ALL of your superior officers. Your weekly evaluations since then have not been encouraging. Agents DiNozzo, Cooper and Nighthawk have all commented that you only grudgingly follow their orders. Sometimes, they feel you have pretended not to hear them when they give some orders. You argue or complain about others. On several occasions, you have purposely waited until they were occupied elsewhere before trying to circumvent them and going to Agent Gibbs. Now, we have the confrontation that happened earlier with Agent DiNozzo."

He picked up a file from his desk and stood up, moving over to the window and staring out at the view. "Your behavior will no longer be tolerated," he declared, turning back to face her, his eyes catching Gibbs' as he turned. "Effective immediately, your employment with NCIS is terminated." He walked back to his desk and pulled a sheet of paper from the file that lay open there. Walking around the desk, he handed to paper to her. "This is your official Notice of Termination. You will turn in your badge and gun, collect your personal belongings and then you will be escorted out of the building and off the base. You will not be allowed back."

Ziva sat in stunned silence for several seconds before jumping up and pacing the room. "You cannot do this!"

"I think you'll find that I can, Miss David," Vance said, no longer using the title 'Agent'.

"My father..."

"Your father has no bearing on your status at NCIS. You are no longer a member of Mossad. If you wish to contact your father to advise him of your circumstances, that is entirely up to you. But as you are a U.S. citizen and an adult, I have no obligation to call him...and I have not, and will not."

She turned to Gibbs. "Are you just going to stand there and let him do this?!"

"Yes, I am. Because I agree with him. No one on this team trusts you anymore, Ziva. And that includes me. And I will not risk taking you back out in the field. You're a liability to the rest of us. We have given you a second chance, but you didn't want to take it, didn't want to learn from it."

"And my saving you, killing my own brother for you, means nothing?" she said, glancing quickly at Vance, confused when he didn't seem surprised by statement.

"Director Vance already knows that you were the one to kill Ari at my house. Shepard knew as well, and DiNozzo figured it out for himself."

"It should still count for something!" she insisted. "He was my brother!"

"Your brother, the man who killed Kate Todd. The man you said was innocent." Gibbs shook his head, the pain of Kate's death, like those of his wife and daughter, would never truly go away. He moved to stand beside her, but resisted reaching out for her. "Ziva, I will always be grateful that you were there that night. That you had the strength to pull the trigger on your own brother. But do you really think, for that reason alone, I should keep you here, on my team, regardless of your present actions? Regardless of the danger you pose to the other members of my team?"

Ziva glared at him. "They haven't begun to see how dangerous I can be!" She turned to leave when Gibbs stepped in front of her.

"That sounded like a threat. So you best keep something in mind. Number one, I protect my own. Number two, assault of a federal agent is a felony. So if anything happens to any member of my team, and I have even an inkling that you're responsible, I will come after you with everything I've got. And as your brother learned, I don't let up."

She refused to let him see the shiver that coursed down her spine. She moved around him and stomped out of the room. She was damn well going to let Tony know exactly what she thought of him before she left! She crumpled up the paper she still held in her hand and defiantly threw it to the floor. She pushed through the door, slamming it behind her, and nearly ran to the stairs, anxious to give DiNozzo and the others a piece of her mind.

Unfortunately for her, their space was empty when she arrived. Everyone was gone. She emptied her pack out of anything NCIS related, uncaringly letting it drop to the floor, before loading it with her personal belongings. Gibbs had silently, and more quietly, followed her down. He approached her desk and held out a hand. She gave him her gun and badge, slapping them against his palm, stared at him for a long moment and then headed to the elevator. Her hopes for getting out of the building alone were dashed when the elevator doors opened to two security guards waiting to escort her from the building.

She was escorted to her car, and then was followed to the gates. She seethed the entire way. Somehow, DiNozzo would pay for this! But she had to be careful. Because Gibbs didn't make idle threats. He would come after her. But it would be worth it to see Tony suffer.

/

There was general laughter around the table as the members of the team enjoyed a delicious lunch. Contrary to what Gibbs had thought, not even Abby had asked where Gibbs and Ziva were. She must have had some inkling, though. Because while walking out the van, she wrapped her arm around Tony's waist and laid her head on his shoulder with a sad smile.

Part way through lunch, Tony's cell phone vibrated in his pocket. When he saw that it was Gibbs, he stood up and walked away from the table to a short hallway leading to the restrooms. "Hey, Jethro. So, it's done?"

"Yeah. She wasn't happy, but it's done."

"Do you want me to tell everyone what's happening, or wait until we get back to the office?" Tony asked.

"When you get back, call me and we'll all meet in autopsy and I'll break the news. Take your time and finish your meal. There's no hurry. Vance has pulled us off active cases for a couple days. Oh, and don't go to the bullpen first when you get back. A few people here saw her being escorted out, so everyone is curious."

"Will do." Tony was about to hang up when he thought of something. "Hey, Jethro!"

"Yeah, Tony?"

"You want me to bring you back something for lunch?"

Gibbs chuckled. "Yeah, that would be great, Tony, thanks. You know what I like, so get me whatever sounds good. Oh, and a piece of pie. I'm in the mood for something sweet."

Tony grinned. "You got it. I'll call you when we get to the motor pool garage." Tony hung up and returned to the table, just in time to hear Ducky recount his time traveling in Australia. Tony was fascinated. That was one country he planned to visit one day, just for pleasure. He sat back, listening about Ayers Rock, which is now called Uluru. Ahh, pleasant company and great food. There were worse ways to spend a day.

Once lunch was finished, they all piled back in the van and returned to the Navy Yard. As they dropped the van back off with the motor pool, Tony texted Gibbs. Then he instructed everyone to follow him to Autopsy. Gibbs was there, waiting.

Tony handed him his lunch. Gibbs smiled as he inhaled the aroma. He put the bag on one of the tables and faced the group, who had known something was up even before Tony directed them all to autopsy. "So, I hope everyone had a good lunch. I have some news. Ziva has been fired. Vance and I informed her earlier that her employment at NCIS was over."

The members of the team looked at each other, but none of them seemed surprised...and no one seemed terribly upset. While most of them just accepted this news in silence, Abby heaved a sigh. "Thank goodness. I was getting so tired of biting my tongue around her. The things I do for you, Gibbs," alluding to the fact that her Silver Fox had asked her to behave and not give Ziva anything to use against the agency. "You have no idea how many times in the past few weeks I just wanted to slap her silly and pull out all her hair!"

The laughter that rang out from the Autopsy room caused one passing agent to quicken his step, eager to be far away from whatever mayhem Team Gibbs was up to.

/

At the end of the day, Tony and Gibbs stayed behind to finish up the last of the paperwork involved in Ziva's dismissal. Vance had stopped by on his way home for the night, to thank Tony for thinking to bring him back some lunch, as well.

Tony was just putting on his jacket when Gibbs stepped up next to him. "Want to come over to my place for dinner?" Gibbs asked.

"Actually, why don't you come over to my place? I'm doing a favor for one of my neighbors that is out of town and I need to feed her cat. We can order pizza and I've already got beer in the fridge."

"That'll work," Gibbs said. "I'll follow you over."

Once they arrived at Tony's, he gave Gibbs the key to his apartment, while Tony went to his neighbor's place to feed the cat. He stayed a couple minutes to give the cat some attention then walked down the hall to his place. Gibbs had left the door unlocked, so he stepped in and was about to close the door when it was pushed open. "What the hell…" Tony exclaimed. His eyes narrowed as Ziva pushed her way into his apartment.

"You bastard!" she spat. "This is all your doing. You got me fired!"

"You got yourself fired, David. Now get out before I have you arrested. You're not welcome here."

She smirked. "Make me. I dare you."

"Ziva, don't make things worse for yourself. You're already unemployed. Do you really want to be under arrest, as well?"

The ex-Mossad officer replied with her body, lifting a foot to slam it against it chest. He staggered back, taking a few extra steps to get out of her reach. He knew she was probably armed, if not with a gun, then with one or more blades of some kind. He still had his weapon holstered on his hip, but vowed to use it only as a last resort.

She moved toward him and he continued to try to stay out of her reach, which only caused her to be more confident, as he used words alone to try to stop her.

"Ziva, you don't want to do this. You've already got burglary and assault charges just from what you've done so far. Both are felonies."

"I...don't ...care..." she declared through gritted teeth as she picked up a decorative bottle from a shelf, slamming it against the wood. Still holding one end, she slashed at him with the jagged end. "You coward! Fight me!"

"I don't want to hurt you," he said, jumping back from a slash.

"Ha. Hurt me!?" She laughed, throwing the bottle at him. He put his arm up, and hissed as it caught on his jacket sleeve, slicing through into the skin underneath.

"This is your last warning, David," he growled.

"Bring it on, DiNozzo," she sneered.

For the next couple minutes, they exchanged punches and kicks, knocking over furniture, each getting in some blows. Ziva kicked out at Tony's bum knee as he was spinning away from her flying fist. As he dropped to his other knee, Ziva climbed on his back, wrapping her legs around his waist.

Tony was hunched over, with Ziva draped over his back. Shades of Michael Rivkin all over again. He gritted his teeth and pushed over with his bad leg, agony ripping through his knee as he flipped backwards, slamming Ziva to the floor. He felt the breath leave her body as he landed on top of her and heard the thud as her head hit the floor.

"Ouch, I bet that hurt."

DiNozzo looked up to see Gibbs standing in the doorway to the kitchen, cup of coffee in one hand, his Sig in the other. He'd grabbed his weapon when Ziva busted the bottle, but waited, not wanting to fire unless absolutely necessary.

"Some help here, boss," Tony said, panting as he flipped Ziva over on her stomach, wanting to get her cuffed while she was still dazed.

Gibbs set his cup on the counter beside him and holstered his weapon. Pulling his cuffs from the back of his belt, he dropped down beside the pair and quickly secured Ziva's arms behind her back. As they went to lift her, she began kicking out at both of them with her feet, then twisted around to try and bite Gibbs' hands, which were wrapped around her right arm.

Gibbs promptly smacked his hand against her head, which bounced off the floor yet again. "Knock it off!" he ordered. "Tony, we need something to restrain her feet," he said, struggling to keep the nearly rabid woman from turning her head around again. The entire time, she was cursing both men.

DiNozzo quickly snatched his bag from the floor and unzipped the front pocket. He pulled out several zip-ties and proceeded to not only secure her ankles together, but he then hogtied her by pulling her feet up behind her and using another zip-tie to attach her handcuffed wrists to her ankles. He then pulled out a bandana and twisted it tight before quickly slipping it between her lips and tying it behind her head, barely keeping his fingers intact he she tried to bite him as well.

Not thirty seconds after they got her secure, they were just beginning to relax, when they heard a commotion at the door. The two men looked up to see three police officers rushing through the door, weapons up and pointed at them.

"Don't move! Hands in the air!"


	10. Chapter 10

**_CHAPTER 10 _**

"We're Federal Agents!" Gibbs called out, his hands up and away from his body. Tony did the same.

"Be real careful how you move, just you, pull out your ID," said the older of three, who moved until he was standing near Gibbs, but still keeping out of the line of fire from his partners. Jethro slowly reached into his jacket pocket, sliding out his ID wallet and flipping it open. The cop checked the ID, making sure the photo matched Jethro, then handed it back with a nod.

Then he looked toward Tony, "and you?" DiNozzo also showed his ID, pulling it from his back pocket, grimacing as he reached for it. After verifying his ID as well, the cop handed it back. "You need a medic?" he asked, sliding his weapon into the holster on his hip, his partners following his lead.

"Yes, he does," Gibbs interjected, not giving his SFA the chance to tell everyone how 'fine' he was. With a pointed look, Tony stayed quiet, just smiling at the officer, who radioed his dispatcher to have a medic unit respond.

Once dispatch acknowledged his request, he turned to the trussed up woman on the floor. "We got a call from a neighbor. So, what's the story?" he asked, watching as one of the other officers approached Ziva and reached up to remove the gag.

"Hey!" Gibbs called out. "Be careful, she's a biter!"

The officer pulled his hands back quickly. "Ah, maybe we'll just leave that there for the moment," he muttered, which caused Ziva to scream, her words muffled and undecipherable. "Feisty. She belong to one of you?" he asked, grinning, as Jethro helped Tony stand up and move to sit on the sofa, which, aside from the piano was about the only piece of furniture without some kind of damage.

"She used to," Gibbs said. "She was terminated from NCIS today."

"You might want to check her while she's still trussed up," Tony suggested. "She's been known to carry several secreted weapons, mostly knives and other sharp objects."

Gibbs nodded. "She also Mossad trained, well-versed in a few martial arts," he added, wanting to make sure the officers took extra precautions with her.

"So, basically her body is a deadly weapon," the first officer remarked.

"Pretty much," Jethro replied.

The medics arrived just a few minutes later, followed by a couple of female police officers who had been requested to conduct a full search on Ziva. Tony gave them permission to use his bedroom for the search, since they planned to do a modified strip search, to check as much of her as they could while she was still restrained.

With suggestions from Gibbs on where she kept most of her weapons, and another warning on Ziva's abilities, they decided to cut the zip-tie that kept Ziva's hands attached to her ankles, but to keep the remainder of the restraints intact. The two officers picked her up and started to move her toward the bedroom.

Ziva went crazy.

She started to struggle with the two female officers, lifting both her feet off the floor forcing them to take her weight. Then she jerked her head back, trying to get her momentum going that way and pulling the officers off balance. All three women fell to the floor, the officers losing their grip on her arms.

She rolled away, trying to make her way to the door. She didn't get far as both female officers and two of the male officers pounced on her. She continued to struggle, but to no avail. They were able to hogtie her again, then the females decided to go ahead and search her as she lay on the living room floor.

They first did a quick pat-down, feeling for obvious weapons, pulling a knife from her belt, one from each boot, and another from inside her bra. They checked a dozen other places suggested by Gibbs and found some martial arts stars and a long metal rod that look like an old fashioned hat pin.

From the sofa where the medics were checking out the gash on his arm, Tony suggested they empty her pocket of paper clips, hairpins, thumbtacks, anything that she could possible use as a weapon. He also suggest they remove her belt, as she likely had a handcuff key or two stashed away, as it was a trick he himself had shown her.

They pulled the belt off and found a key stuffed between the straps of the leather. It wasn't anything the veteran cops hadn't seen before, as more savvy criminals will often try something like that.

The older officer was glancing around the destroyed room. He saw the damaged bottle on the ground. "How come she used the bottle if she had all those knives on her?" he asked.

Tony glanced at the bottle. "Probably because she knew that bottle was important to me. It had been my mother's."

They all turned to where Ziva lay on the floor, her muffled laughter obvious behind the gag that was still in her mouth. She had known that the colorful bottle was a trinket that Tony's mom had purchased while on a trip to Greece when she was a teenager. It was one of only a few of his mother's treasures that he'd been able to keep. And now it was destroyed.

"You're going to need stitches," the medic told Tony as he wrapped up the agent's arm. "And you're gonna want to get that knee x-rayed, possibly an MRI as well."

Tony just nodded, still staring at the broken bottle. He looked up as a hand fell on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, DiNozzo. I shoulda..."

"No, boss," Tony said, shaking his head. "I needed to be the one to take her down. And hey, at least now we know that all that time you spent training me paid off."

Nearly a minute passed, the silent communication between the two friends settling both. "Let's get you to the hospital. I'll have Coop and Mel come by to process the scene."

With that, Gibbs pulled the phone from his belt and began making calls. He called Vance first, to let him know what was going on. Leon assured Gibbs that he would handle Ziva, telling him that he'd have the on-call team come to process the scene. Gibbs then called Darius and ordered him to get the rest of the team to Tony's apartment, also letting him know that he'd be going in with DiNozzo and to keep him informed about their progress. The LEO's had agreed to stay with Ziva until the rest of the team arrived to take her into custody. They would be responsible for getting Ziva back to NCIS headquarters.

Gibbs and DiNozzo walked out with the medics, Tony being aided by Jethro as they walked slowly to the elevator. The elevator wasn't big enough for the stretcher and Tony had no intention of being strapped on the thing and taken down the stairs. So he walked out under his own power…with assistance.

They were just moving out the front door of the building when both Vance and Cooper pulled up from opposite directions. Jethro helped Tony into the ambulance, assured him he'd meet him at the hospital after he briefed the Director and Cooper. He closed the doors, slapping his hand against it to let the driver know it was safe to leave, then turned to speak to his Director.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Vance asked.

Gibbs nodded. "Cut on his arm, he'll need some stitches. And she kicked his bad knee, it's pretty swollen already."

"Where is the little witch?" Darius asked angrily.

"Up in Tony's apartment, tied up like a calf at a rodeo," Gibbs grinned. Vance's eyebrow rose slightly. "Hey, even handcuffed, she was putting up a fight, so we hogtied her with some zip-ties. Seemed the most effective way of assuring her compliance."

"So who took her down, you or Tony?" Darius asked.

"Tony. Even after she kicked his knee. I didn't step in until he needed handcuffs."

Darius just grinned, while Vance looked stunned. "DiNozzo took her down by himself?"

Gibbs looked like a proud papa. "Yep."

"Don't take this the wrong way, Gibbs, but…you let him? You're usually all over someone that threatens your people, much less actually attacks them." Vance was about to go on, but was interrupted by the arrival of both McGee and Nighthawk. The pair quickly joined the three men, who explained where Ziva and Tony were. Gibbs then belatedly answered Vance's question.

"Tony needed to show what he could do, Leon."

"What, exactly, did DiNozzo need to show, Gibbs, and to who, you or Ziva?"

"To himself, mostly. Let's just say that McGee and Ziva weren't the only ones in training. Tony approached me just after their suspensions started. He wanted me to teach him how to fight…combat-style, not what he'd learned at the police academy or on the streets. So he and I began training. Once Mel and Darius joined us, we all kind of shared our different methods with each other. But we haven't gone up against any suspects that we've really needed to use it against, until tonight. So it was the first time Tony has really put those new skills to the test."

"So you've all been teaching each other your different fighting techniques?" Vance inquired.

"Among other things," Darius said. "For example, I never would have thought to use a belt-buckle with a knife hidden inside. But Tony showed me his, and I've got one, too, now."

"Or urging all of us to carry around zip-ties, because so many criminals can have handcuff keys hidden on their bodies. Can't use a key on a zip-tie," Mel interjected.

"I'm thinking I may have your team give talks to all the new agents coming in, Gibbs."

Gibbs snorted. "Hell, Leon, Tony's been doing that unofficially for years. Not just the agents, either. He generally gives the new civilian employees tips on staying safe, being pro-active in their own protection."

"He does?" Vance hadn't know this, but it fit with what he was finally taking the time to learn about Gibbs' second-in-command.

"Yeah." Gibbs thought for a moment. "I think it was about five years ago, one of the ladies down in our Records unit was returning home one night to her apartment. Taking some of Tony's advice, she parked and stayed in her car for a couple of minutes, just surveying the area. She saw movement in the shadows not far from the door of the apartment building. She called the police and they found a guy hiding in the bushes. A search produced a knife and some rope. When they ran his name, they found two warrants on him, for Aggravated Rape and Kidnapping."

McGee smiled. "Yeah, I remember when she came up to thank Tony. Said she'd grown up in a small town and it had never occurred to her to do something like that. She figured the quicker she headed towards the building, the better. But she told Tony she believed his advice saved her that night. Brought him this awesomely delicious cheesecake as a 'thank you', too. And he was nice enough to share."

"I can see that DiNozzo and I are going to have to talk. Maybe we should get him doing this officially. And pay him for it."

"He wouldn't accept the money, Leon. But he would love getting something official started. He's got a lot of good ideas in that direction. Agents are taught to defend themselves and others as a routine part of their training. Tony thinks our other employees deserve the same opportunity. One idea he mentioned once was a discounted rate for martial arts training."

Vance's mind filled with ideas. "Well, as DiNozzo is most likely going to be on desk-duty for a while, I'll have lots of time discuss some of this with him. In the meantime, get going, Gibbs. We'll handle things from here."

/

By the time Gibbs arrived at the hospital, he'd already been on the phone with Fornell. Since the FBI had jurisdiction on all assaults on federal agents, Gibbs knew they would be called in and was glad it was Fornell's team. Fornell knew and liked Tony, knew how important Tony was to Gibbs. And more important, knew everything about what had been going on with Tim and Ziva.

To say the FBI man had been pissed when Gibbs had told him about the pair turning off Tony's radio was an understatement. He'd been livid! And he couldn't figure out why Vance hadn't fired them outright. He thought both Tony and Gibbs were crazy to be willing to let either of them back on their team. But Tony had finally discussed it with him and Tobias had backed down. He hadn't agreed, but he had backed down.

Fornell was on his way to the hospital to get Tony's statement before heading to NCIS to interrogate Ziva. He told Jethro that Ziva could sit in an interrogation room for a few hours while Fornell 'gathered evidence.' He didn't say it, but Jethro knew he was worried about Tony and wanted to make sure the younger man was okay.

Gibbs parked his car and headed into the ER. Approaching the desk, he gave his name and Tony's. The nurse told him someone would be right out. Less than a minute later, another nurse came out and called for him and he followed her back to the room where Tony was being treated. Before she left, he advised her that Fornell would be coming in and would be wanting to talk to Tony if it wasn't interfering in his treatment.

Tony was laying back on the bed with his eyes closed. Gibbs wasn't sure if he was asleep or just resting his eyes, but he moved quietly so not to disturb him. He was just sitting down in a chair next to the bed when Tony's eyes opened. "Hey, Boss."

"How ya feeling?" Gibbs asked.

"Okay, I guess. Five stitches in the arm. They x-rayed the knee and didn't see any cracks or fractures, which is good. They're sending me down for a MRI in just a bit."

"They give you anything for the pain?" Tony looked like he was still in a considerable amount of discomfort.

"Only locals in the areas they were working on. I know I need to give a statement here pretty soon and didn't want to be doped up for it."

"Fornell's on his way. So you can give him your statement, then we can get you some pain relief." Tony just nodded his head and closed his eyes. He and Gibbs just sat in silence for a few minutes, both men going over the events of the night in their head.

"I can't believe she did it. I knew she'd be pissed at getting fired, but to go this far…" Tony trailed off.

"Not sure what's going on in her head. She made some veiled threats when she was fired, but I thought she was blowing off steam. I warned her off, though. She should have listened."

"That why you wanted to come over for dinner?" Tony asked suspiciously, "Babysitting me?"

"No. I truly didn't think she'd do anything. I just wanted to enjoy dinner with my friend, now that all the drama was behind us. At least, I thought it was behind us." Gibbs sighed. "My gut let me down on this one."

Oddly enough, that seemed to make Tony happy, although Gibbs wasn't sure why. Before he could question the man, there was a knock on the door. Fornell stood there. Both Tony and Gibbs' eyes lit up…not for the man, but for the tray of cups he was holding. Laughing softly, he handed the cups to Gibbs and Tony and kept one for himself. Then he got down to business.

"Tony, you up to giving me your statement about tonight?" Tony nodded. Fornell produced a small tape recorder and they got down to business. Once Fornell had gotten both Tony's and Gibbs' statements, his attention turned back to Tony. "How are you doing, Tonio, really?"

Tony sighed. "Aching, but okay. Just worried about the knee. They didn't find any fractures, but until the MRI is done, they aren't sure what damage is there. I really don't want to have to have surgery on it. But I guess I'll have to take whatever comes."

"Do you want to press charges on David?"

"Oh, hell yes. Whatever she can be charged with."

"Well, according to what Sacks has found at your place and your statement, I'd say we can get her for burglary, trespassing, property damage, assault of a federal agent, resisting arrest. And that's just to start."

"Sacks is at my place?" Tony asked warily.

Fornell grinned. "Don't worry. Director Vance is still there. And the NCIS team processing the scene won't let Sacks touch anything. He's getting a little testy about the whole thing, but it'll do him good."

"I'm glad you're handling this," Tony said. "I don't want her getting away with this."

"Yeah, well, too bad she's now a U.S. citizen. I'd like to be able to deport her," Fornell said gruffly. "What did this country ever do to deserve the likes of her? And what idiot at immigration thought she'd make a good citizen?"

Fornell stayed until the came to take Tony down for his MRI. Then he got a promise from Gibbs to call him with the results of the MRI, for his report, of course. Gibbs wasn't fooled. He knew Fornell was worried about DiNozzo, as they all were. But Jethro had a feeling that he would be just fine.

Especially now that Ziva David was gone from his team.

/

Early the next morning, Gibbs walked up the stairs to Vance's office, large coffee in his hand. He was feeling much better this morning. Tony's MRI came out clean. The knee would not need surgery, just some rest and elevation.

"Good morning, Agent Gibbs," Cynthia, Vance's secretary said. "How is Agent DiNozzo this morning?"

"He's doing well, Cynthia. He'll probably be released tomorrow. He did want me to thank you for the basket of goodies you dropped off this morning. Says you should have woken him up."

She smiled. "He looked so peaceful, I didn't want to disturb him. But I know he loves my cranberry apple muffins, so I thought they'd tempt him more than hospital food."

"They did," Gibbs grinned. "Although he was nice enough to let me have a half of one! He hoarded the rest of them." Cynthia laughed in delight, glad her offering was welcomed by Tony. "I wouldn't mind some of those again anytime you care to make some," Jethro hinted.

"I'll remember that in the future, Agent Gibbs. Oddly enough, Tony thought you'd like the orange walnut ones better." With that, she pulled out a small box and handed it over. Gibbs inhaled the scent of fresh-baked muffins with a smile.

"Cynthia, you are a treasure. Director available?" She nodded and Gibbs took his box into Vance's office. He was about to offer the Director one of the muffins in the box, but saw Leon already had a muffin on his desk. Apparently, Cynthia had been busy last night.

"Morning, Leon."

"Gibbs. Good news about DiNozzo's knee. Glad it's a relatively minor injury."

"Yeah. He'll be on crutches for a week or so and has orders to take it easy for at least a month. Doc says he can return to work on desk duty next week."

"That's good to hear."

"What's the news on Ziva?" Gibbs asked.

"Oh, she's still in lockup. She's refused to talk to Fornell or anyone else. Since she's Jewish, she's still considered an Israeli citizen, even though she's also American now. Her dual citizenship may muddy the waters a bit. We received a call from the Israeli Embassy. Eli David requested them to assist, so they are send an attorney over in the morning."

"I'm not surprised she called him. So, daddy dearest stepped in to help?"

"I think it's his way of trying to lure her back home. And, really, if she renounces her citizenship, I'd almost be ready to let her…." He raised at hand as Gibbs opened his mouth, "after she serves whatever sentence she gets for her attack on DiNozzo."

Gibbs smiled and pulled out one of Cynthia's muffins and took a bite. The flavors that danced across his tongue were heavenly.

"Good?" Vance asked with a grin.

"Mmmm!" was Gibbs only reply, which cause Leon to laugh.

Once they'd both finished their treats, they got down to discussing the plight of Ziva David.

"I've been on the phone with SecNav and legal all morning," Vance began. "They suggest that we lay out the charges and see if she asks for a deal. Her lawyer has already talked to her about it, and she seems pretty set against it, demanding her day in court."

"Who's handling it for NCIS?" Gibbs asked.

"Mitch Donahee."

"He's good," Jethro reply, happy that the most experienced attorney in legal would be dealing with the case.

"The best we have," Leon agreed. "He's been staying in contact with the FBI and together with their legal team, has decided on a game plan. They hope that once she hears the litany of charges that she accept a plea deal."

Gibbs sighed. "I have a feeling she's not gonna make it that easy."

"What do you suggest?"

"I want to talk to her. See where her head was at when she went after Tony. I want to know if she planned that attack or if things just came to a head once she got there."

"You'll need to clear that through legal and Fornell," Vance declared, standing up to refill his coffee cup, bringing a second large mug over for Gibbs, who had finished the last of his store-bought cup already. "One more thing, when they searched Ziva's apartment, they found a journal. It's in Hebrew, but the agents who glanced through it saw a lot of recent entries that have DiNozzo's name mentioned a lot. Fornell is getting it translated so we can make sure she hadn't planned this all along."

"I hope that's not the case, Leon."

Vance could tell that Gibbs was conflicted. While he and DiNozzo were close, he knew that Ziva had also managed to find her way into his heart. However, her attack on the Senior Field Agent would have gone a long way to severing that connection. You didn't attack Gibbs' team—not even, or especially, if you were a _member _of that team.

"You really think it's a good idea for you to talk to her? Might be best if you just cut all ties completely."

"As much as I'd like to do that, I have do this. I need to know if I could have done something, anything, to avoid this."

"Like what?"

Gibbs leaned back in the chair, laying his head back, staring at the ceiling. He took a deep breath, blew it out, and looked back at Vance. "I think we might have dropped the ball when she came back from Somalia."

"How so?"

"I just get the feeling she didn't have as many sessions with the shrink that she should have had," he said dryly.

"That's not on us, Gibbs. She was cleared by two different psychologists. She did multiple sessions with both, and also talked to a rape counselor."

"Yeah, and she's an expert at undercover."

"You mean she lies well," Vance said with a grimace.

Gibbs just shrugged and took a sip of his coffee.

/

Ziva was pacing. She hated being confined and she'd been in this cell for way too long. She'd been humiliated, paraded back into this building in handcuffs! She'd seen the smirks on the faces of some of the agents….agents who had always been jealous of her talents.

Now she was forced to wear this…she pulled on the material of the orange jumpsuit they tossed her, ordering her to strip so that they could put her clothing into evidence. Evidence! Ha! These fools! Evidence of what? It wasn't as if she'd murdered someone.

She dropped down on the cot and closed her eyes. Her mind went back over her confrontation with DiNozzo. She had been very angry when she'd gone to his apartment. How had she missed the fact that Gibbs was there? She didn't remember seeing his vehicle. But then again, she'd been pretty intent on just having it out with Tony.

She still couldn't believe that he had beaten her! He was not that good! She tried to figure out where she had made a mistake. He was poorly trained, yet he managed to get the best of her. She didn't want to believe he was better than her. Gibbs had once told her that what DiNozzo lacked in formal martial arts and combat training, he made up in street smarts and tenacity. She hadn't believed him at the time. Was this what he meant?

No. NO! She refused to believe that. Jumping up again from the cot, she dropped to the floor and began doing a series of exercises, push-ups, sit-ups and crunches, anything to burn some energy. Normally she ran several miles every morning, but being confined had not allowed her the luxury that morning.

Just one more thing to blame on Tony DiNozzo.

"You can't blame Tony for your own actions, Ziva."

She jumped to her feet, not wanted to have any disadvantage.

"Gibbs!

/


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N We apologize for how long it took us to update this. We were on vacation with little to no time to spend on the computer, then coming back to crazy working hours heading into the July 4th Holiday. But here it is and it is now complete. We hope you enjoy.**

**_CHAPTER 11_**

_"__Gibbs!" _

When the former Marine didn't reply, she nervously bit her lower lip, while trying to gauge his mood. She found that, even though she'd worked with him for years, she still found it hard to tell what he was thinking. Oh, she knew he was likely angry with her for trying to take down Tony DiNozzo. And she still could not believe he had bested her.

Thoughts were racing through her head. Should she apologize, grovel a bit, or stand her ground. Being terminated from NCIS had been…unexpected. Extreme.

She was afraid. She was confused. And Gibbs was the one man who might be able to help her. He had been stern and angry in the Director's office the day before. She hoped it was just a show for Vance and she could still appeal to his mostly hidden soft side.

She relaxed her stance and smiled.

"Gibbs, thank you for coming to talk to me. I want to apologize for what happened. Is Tony alright?"

"He will be," Gibbs replied, taking a sip of the large coffee he held in his hand.

When he didn't elaborate, Ziva continued. "He learned a few new moves since we last sparred," she offered. "I did not expect it."

"You've always underestimated him."

Ziva frowned, but moved closer, wrapping her hands around the bars that separated them. "And you have always favored him." She remembered something Tony had told her and decided to see if he was right. "Tell me, Gibbs, if I had come back with you from Israel, after I told you that I could no longer work with Tony, would you have asked him to leave the team?"

"No," he replied with a distinct lack of hesitation.

She blinked in surprise and took a step back. "You would have removed me from your team?"

"I would have requested the Director to find you another team or a different position in the agency."

Against her will, she felt tears begin to form, so she turned away from him. How could she have read him so wrong?

"Tony would never have asked me to choose. If he felt he couldn't work with you, he would have asked for a transfer," Gibbs said, knowing exactly where her mind was.

"And yet he did not do that after the case with the Military at Home group. Instead he filed an official complaint, and look what it has led to," she said, waving her hands as if taking in the cell she stood in.

The anger was obvious on Gibbs' face this time, she didn't have to search for it. "Agent DiNozzo did exactly what he was supposed to do! Why don't you get that?!" He slammed his hand against the bar, causing her to jump back, startled. This time it was Gibbs who grabbed a bar with one hand, while barely keeping the other from crushing his coffee cup. "Tony DiNozzo has never put any of his fellow agents in danger. In fact, he generally puts himself between danger and anyone else that happens to be there with him."

She smirked. "Yet he was not the one in your basement the night Ari tried to kill you…that was me. I pulled the trigger on my own brother…for you! That should count for something!"

Gibbs briefly closed his eyes. "It did. It's the reason you were even given the chance to become an agent."

"What?"

"After everything that happened," he explained, "I wasn't sure you would be a good match for NCIS. I thought you might do better at NSA or even Homeland. But I wanted to make sure that you were okay, after what happened in Somalia, and that meant keeping you with NCIS and on my team. I debated for a long while my decision to sign off on your request for agent status."

"You never told me that," she stated, shocked by his admission.

"You didn't need to know."

Before either could say anymore, the door that led to the cells opened and the Director's assistant called out to Gibbs. He walked down the hall and took a file she handed to him. He nodded at something she said before she left. He grabbed the chair that sat next to the door and dragged it back, placing it against the wall opposite Ziva's cell. He sat down in the chair, took a sip of his coffee before setting the cup on the floor. Then he opened the file and began to read.

Ziva was curious about the contents of the file. Periodically, he would look up and glare at her, but didn't utter a word and ignored all of her questions. Over and over she tried to get him to tell her what was in the file, as she assumed it had something to do with her, since he decided to read it there. Whatever was in that file was not good news, she thought, judging by the frown and the clenched jaw on Gibbs' face. She began to pace again, back and forth, stopping once in a while to look at her boss... her former boss, she reminded herself.

Eventually, she realized she wasn't going to get any answers from him until he was ready to talk to her. So she settled back onto her bunk and eventually dozed off.

Gibbs was getting angrier by the minute as he read through the translation of Ziva's journal. It was page after page of her rants about how DiNozzo had screwed up her life. It seemed like everything bad that happened to her after Rivkin's death, she attributed to Tony. Her father's deceit, being forced to finish Rivkin's mission, all the torture she'd endured in Somalia. She even blamed Tony for her further estrangement with her father!

He stood up and hurled the file at the cell door, then grabbed the chair and threw it down the hall. Ziva startled awake and looked up to see a very angry Gibbs standing outside her cell, glaring at her. She noticed the file on the floor and moved to pick it up. Gibbs let her, if only to see what kind of excuse she would render for everything that she'd written.

Ziva warily stooped down and pulled the file between the bars, keeping an eye on Gibbs the entire time, taken back by his obvious anger toward her. She moved back to the bed and sat down, then began leafing through the pages. She read the pages, recognizing her own words.

"This was private!" she declared. "How dare you..."

Gibbs slammed a hand against the bars. "How dare I? Who the hell do you think you are?"

"You had no right go through my property!" she insisted, slinging the file across her cell.

"We had warrant, Mssss David," Gibbs snarled, with disdain, angry that she'd played him so badly and kept her obvious hatred for DiNozzo hidden. He missed it, and that pissed him off! He hadn't been that wrong about someone in a long time. "You attacked a Federal Agent. That gave us the right to search your residence. And reading that," he said, gesturing toward the file on the floor, "shows that it was premeditated."

"No, it was not premeditated. If it had been, he would be dead. Of course, there is still time." The sneer on her face pushed Gibbs over the edge.

"Is that a threat, David?" he asked, gripping the bars with both hands.

She laughed, walking up to stand in front of him, only the bars separating them. "Who is to say? DiNozzo is accident-prone. He may have another 'accident'. And that woman, McGee, well, a simple street bum could take him down. Ducky is an old man, easily prone to injury. And Abby, well, who is to say what things could happen to a woman who goes out drinking as much as she does." She grinned and turned back to her bunk.

She gasped as Gibbs grabbed her ponytail and yanked her back to slam against the bars. He held onto her hair with one hand, while his other arm wrapped around her throat.

"Do not threatened my family," he whispered into her ear. "You know how I feel about that. You know my background. You know I can, and will, kill anyone who hurts my family. If any of them get as much as a paper cut, I will take you down." He removed his arm from her throat and shoved her away from the bars. "I'm done with you, Ziva. You've had chance after chance and I…" He shook his head. "I'm just done."

He walked back down the hall and opened the door. He didn't even bother to turn back and see her reaction, because neither it, nor her, meant anything to him anymore.

Ziva watched him go, rubbing absently at her throat. The fear that flew through her when Gibbs had her against the bars, turned quickly to anger.

If Gibbs thought he was through with her, she would prove to him that she was not someone to be underestimated.

/

Ziva met with her lawyer two days later, before they were scheduled to go to court. She had given him her version of events during their first meeting the day before. She was working on a plan and needed to make sure her lawyer did what she expected him to do. What she needed him to do to make that plan come to fruition.

"So," Ezekiel Malachi stated, "they are charging you with Trespassing, Burglary, Property Damage, Assault on a Federal Officer and Resisting Arrest."

"This is all ridiculous. It was a misunderstanding! Did you talk to Tony? Ask him to come see me as I requested?"

"Yes, I spoke briefly with Agent DiNozzo. He gave me his lawyer's name and number and said all communication should go through the attorney, then he hung up. So I called his attorney with your request for a meeting. The attorney said his client has no wish to see or talk to you before court."

Ziva snorted. "I should have known he would be mule-headed. He is jealous. Getting me fired is not enough, now he wants me in jail?"

"With all due respect, Ms. David, Agent DiNozzo did not get you fired. Your own actions did that."

"You are supposed to be my lawyer. How can you say that?"

"My job as your attorney is to relay the reality of your situation. I have read all the reports from NCIS about your job performance and subsequent termination. I have also read statements from both Director Vance and Agent Gibbs that you made threats during your exit interview, one specifically aimed at Agent DiNozzo. Then we have you going to Agent DiNozzo's home, forcibly entering without permission, refusing to leave when asked, breaking his property, assaulting him and then fighting with officers that responded to emergency calls at the residence. None of which would have happened if you had just stayed away. Now, not only will you no longer be eligible to work in law enforcement, but you may be spending some time in jail."

"I thought it was also your job to get me off?" Ziva said. "I admit I was angry, but I did not mean to hurt anyone. I was just upset!"

Ezekiel sighed. "I will try my best to 'get you off', Ms. David. But with the list of charges against you, there is little chance that all of them will be dismissed or reduced unless Agent DiNozzo agrees, since he was the victim of most of the charges. And he doesn't seem willing, from what his attorney has stated. Also, you may have damned yourself with the statements that were discovered in your personal journal."

_That damn journal_. Ziva thought furiously as to how she could get this to go away. "Maybe if I could talk to the rest of the team? Maybe they could talk to Tony on my behalf?"

The attorney looked closely at his client. He knew she was former Mossad and the daughter of Director David. So he knew she would try to manipulate the others into convincing Agent DiNozzo to drop the charges. But that wasn't his concern as her attorney. He would pass the requests along. He got a list of names and phones numbers from his client.

He then got back to the main focus of this meeting. "So, this morning is your arraignment hearing, where you will enter a plea to the charges against you. So, how do you wish to plead?"

"Not guilty, of course." Ziva was upset that he even had to ask.

"Very well. Today we will also deal with bail. I will ask that you be released on your own recognizance, but there is a chance that they will set bail. Your father has already offered to post it, should be the case."

"Good. Thank Father for me."

"Our case should be called in about an hour, so I will see you then." With that, he walked out, leaving Ziva to be returned to the holding cell.

An hour later, he was at the defendant's table in the courtroom when Ziva was led in. She spied Gibbs and Tony seated in the courtroom. Next to them were Director Vance and FBI Agent Fornell.

"Your Honor, this is the case of United States vs. Ziva David, Docket number 14-30166," the bailiff called out.

The court proceedings went as expected. Ziva's plea of 'Not Guilty' was entered into the court record. Now it was the matter of bail.

"Your Honor," Mr. Malachi began, "Ziva David has been a member of law enforcement. She has lived and worked in the D.C. area for several years. We ask that she be released on her own recognizance."

"Your Honor," Mitch Donahee, the opposing attorney said, "Miss David was terminated from her employment at NCIS, and then attacked a former supervisor in his home. She is highly skilled in combat and has ties to Israel, as evidenced by the fact that her attorney is affiliated with the Israeli embassy. Her father is an important and powerful man in the Israeli Mossad. We feel that she is not only a threat to the safety of her former co-workers, particularly Agent DiNozzo, but presents a substantial flight risk. The people ask for bail to be denied."

The dickering between attorneys went on for several minutes before the judge called a halt. He looked out into the crowd seating in the courtroom. "Director Vance," he called out, motioning the man forward. "How does NCIS feel in this matter? Do you feel she is still a threat to your people?"

"I do, Your Honor," Vance stated.

"Do you feel she is a flight risk?"

"Yes, Your Honor, I feel she is."

"What if I release her, but we take custody of her passport?"

Vance shook his head. "With all due respect, Your Honor, with her contacts in the intelligence community and her training, she could have a new passport with an assumed name in a matter of hours. And she has people who could get her safely out of the country easily."

The judge thought for a moment, then made his decision. "Bail is denied. Defendant will remain in custody." His gaze narrowed as he saw the anger on the defendant's face and saw her start to say something. Her lawyer quickly grabbed her arm and whispered something to her. Her mouth clamped shut as the bailiff came to lead her away.

/

"What do you mean, they do not wish to see me?" Ziva was floored by what her lawyer told her.

"Just that. I spoke to Agents McGee, Nightwalker and Cooper and they all said they have no wish to see you. Miss Scuito was more…profane in her response."

"What did Abby say, exactly?" Ziva asked, curious.

"I would rather not repeat her answer, if you don't mind," the lawyer replied with an expression of distaste. "Let's just say she made it more than obvious that she has no intention of seeing you. However, Dr. Mallard agreed to visit, but said probably not until next week."

Ziva frowned. Ducky was not so easily manipulated. She might have to re-think her strategy. She was a bit put out that Abby refused to visit. She thought her friendship with the scientist was strong enough to withstand what had happened. Although, things had not been the same between the two women since the incident with the radio, so maybe she really should not be surprised by Abby's response.

/

Gibbs smiled as he heard his friend's voice on the other end of the phone. "Shalom, Mahir."

"Gibbs, my friend. How are you?"

"I'm good. I wish I was calling for a better reason, though. I'm on a secure line at my end, what about you?"

Mahir laughed. "I am always on a secure line, Gibbs. Better to stay alive that way."

"Well, I need a favor."

"Anything, you know that."

"Have you heard what has been going on over here with Ziva?"

"Oh, yes. The, what do you call them, 'powers that be' were not happy that Eli had ordered the embassy there to provide her with an attorney."

"I would like you to keep your ears open. This thing with Ziva may go sideways and I need a heads-up if Eli starts any talk of revenge against NCIS or my team."

"Ah. Well, I hope I can put your mind at ease, my friend. Eli is being watched very closely. He has been doing some things that are not in the best interests of Mossad or Israel. I fear he will soon be too busy worrying about his own concerns to cause trouble for you or your team. But I will let you know if I hear anything."

"Thanks, Mahir. I appreciate it."

"You are very welcome, Gibbs. I have a question for you. Rumors here are saying that your DiNozzo bested Ziva in a fight?"

Gibbs smiled in pride. "Those rumors are true, Mahir. He did."

"And he also killed Rivkin. He must be a very skilled fighter. He sounds like an exceptional young man. I would like to meet him one day."

"He is very exceptional. He's the best agent I've ever worked with. Tell you what, the next time you are in D.C., I'll have you both over to my place for dinner."

"It just so happens, I will be in D.C. attending a conference next month. I would very much enjoy having dinner with you and young DiNozzo."

"You got it, Mahir. Just let me know the best time and we'll set it up."

"I look forward to it. Until then, my friend. Shalom."

"Shalom." Gibbs hung up, feeling a little better. If Eli David was busy with his own problems, perhaps they wouldn't have to worry about him once Ziva was found guilty.

Ziva David wasn't the only one with contacts in Israel.

/

Tony walked slowly towards his desk. After a week at home, pampering his knee, he was glad to be back at work, although he did enjoy his friends stopping by to bring him food, or cooking for him. Their timing was too good, so he knew some kind of schedule had been set. And gee, he wondered whose idea that had been? He smiled to himself.

He had just sat down at his desk when the Director came in and stopped by to talk to him. "Agent DiNozzo, good morning."

"Good morning, Sir."

"How is your knee feeling?"

"Okay, Sir. I'll be wearing a brace for a bit, to keep from moving it wrong."

"Good. Just let me know if there is anything you need." Tony nodded his head, sure the Director would head upstairs. But he was wrong. "I know it's your first day back, but I'd like to set some time aside to talk to you this morning. It should take about an hour."

Tony frowned. "Is this about Ziva, Director?" He wondered if the Director was going to try and get him to drop the charges.

Vance smiled. "No. This is about a new program I'd like to talk to you about. Can you come up to my office in about ten minutes?"

"I'll be there, Sir."

Ten minutes later, Tony was greeting Cynthia before being ushered into Vance's office. Tony got settled into a seat. "So, what's this about, Sir?"

"The night Ziva showed up at your place, Gibbs mentioned some things that you've been doing in an unofficial capacity here at the agency."

"Like what?" Tony wasn't sure what Gibbs had told Vance.

"Talks you've had with new agents, giving them tips. And tips that you've given to our professional and support staff, about safety and protecting themselves."

"Oh, that. Sir, it's only a few minutes here and there. It doesn't interfere with my job."

Vance held up a hand. "Agent DiNozzo, I'm not raising issues about you doing this. On the contrary, I want you to expand on what you've been doing. I want to offer official classes, and I'd like you to spearhead it."

"Seriously, Sir?"

"Yes. I know it's a lot for you to take on, considering your caseload and your SFA duties, but you've obviously got a head start. I'm thinking of two classes, one for new agents and one for our support staff. What do you think?"

"I'd love to do it, Director. You're right, I do have a lot of stuff that I've already done. If I could get some help building a power-point presentation, I could probably have something ready by the time I'm released to return to field duty. I think McGee would help me set something up."

"Good, good. Agent Gibbs also said you might have some other ideas along the same lines. Let's talk about them."

The two men spent the next 45 minutes discussing ideas. By the time Tony walked out of Vance's office, he was jazzed about what Vance had asked him to do. Any time he could pass along info and tips to help people protect themselves, he got satisfaction. He shook his head, amazed at the difference in his relationship with the Director since his 'suspension' several months before. Although he doubted he would ever feel the same about Vance that he did about Director Morrow, it was nice that Vance was starting to treat Tony with a lot more respect these days.

/

At the end of Tony's first week back, the team saw the successful conclusion of their latest case. With all reports finished and signed off on, they decided to head out to lunch as a team. When they came back, they were laughing and smiling together. It wasn't to last.

No sooner had they all gotten settled back at their desks when the phone rang. "Yeah, Gibbs…all of us?...Yes, Sir." He stood up. "Let's go, boys and girls. Vance wants all of us in his office." The group used the elevator to make it easier on Tony's still healing knee. They trooped into the Director's office. Upon seeing Fornell, Gibbs' gut started churning and he and Tony exchanged glances. This was not good.

"What's up, Director?" Gibbs asked.

"Fornell has some news. Tobias?" Vance gave Fornell the floor.

"I'm not sure if any of you knew, but plans were to transfer Ziva from the county lockup this morning to the federal detention center, to await the start of her trial. She tried to escape during the transfer. She injured one of the guards and managed to get his gun. When she started to raise the gun, the other two guards shot her. She's dead."

There was silence for several moments, then Tony slumped into a chair. "I need to see her body. No offense, Fornell, but I need to see that it's really her."

"No offense taken, Tony. I completely understand. The body has been taken to the Metro Coroner's office. I'll call and let them know you're coming."

It was Nighthawk that brought up a troublesome thought. "What's going to happen when Daddy David finds out she's dead? Is he going to be out for revenge?"

Vance and Gibbs exchanged a look. It was Vance who answered. "Between my contacts and Gibbs', we should get some kind of warning. The Prime Minister's office was not happy that Eli stepped in to help Ziva." He sighed. "For now, just go on back to work. Gibbs, you'll let Ducky and Abby know about Ziva?"

"Yeah." The team and Fornell left Vance's office. While the team returned to their desks, Gibbs, Tony and Fornell stopped at the top of the stairs overlooking the bullpen.

"Tony, I'll call the ME's office," Fornell said. "Would two hours from now be good for you?"

"Yeah, that would be fine, Tobias. Thanks." The FBI man nodded and walked out, his phone to his ear. Tony sighed.

"You okay, Tony?"

"Just kind of thrown for a loop, ya know. I was having to steel myself for having to deal with the trial, now suddenly, it's over and she's gone. I'm not sure what to think." He turned to Gibbs. "Will you go with me to the ME's office?"

"Of course, Tony."

Two hours later saw the men at the ME's office, waiting for the coroner's assistant to bring them to the viewing room.

"How did Abby and Ducky take the news about Ziva?" Tony asked his boss.

"Strangely enough, Abby accepted it with sort a resigned attitude. Said that she and the sisters would say a prayer for Ziva's soul tonight. Ducky, however, was very upset."

"I thought it would have been the other way around."

"Apparently, Ducky went to see Ziva last night and delivered some harsh words to her. He feels his visit may have given her a reason to try to escape." Tony was about to reply to that when they were summoned by the assistant. They were brought into the room and stopped before a blanket cover table. The assistant pulled back the sheet covering the face.

Tony sighed at the sight of the pale, dead face of Ziva David. Gibbs looked at Tony with worry. "You're not blaming yourself for this, Tony?"

"No, Jethro. We gave her so many chances. More than she deserved, I think." Tony nodded to the assistant in thanks and the two men left the viewing room and walked toward the exit. "I'm not feeling guilty, but I am feeling sad. Sad that it came to this. Sad that I'm not more upset that she's dead."

"I'm not sorry she's dead, Tony. In a way, it's kind of a relief."

Once settled in the car, Tony put a hand out to stop Gibbs from starting the car. "Explain, please."

Gibbs sighed. "I don't think it was Ducky's visit that led to her trying to escape. I think it was mine."

Tony was confused. "But you saw her days ago. Or did you go back to see her a second time?"

"No, it was just the one visit. But I told you that she and I got into a very heated argument. She threatened you again. Threatened the whole team. I threatened her right back. Reminded her of what I did to the man that killed Shannon and Kelly. Told her I would do no less for someone that hurt you or the rest of my team. Then I told her I was done with her and walked out."

Tony remembered. He hadn't been surprised to hear that Ziva had threatened him again. It wasn't in her nature to back down, especially since Tony had bested her in a fight. She had to 'save face', even if it was just in her own mind. But Tony wasn't about to let either Ducky or Gibbs take the blame for what happened. "Jethro, I highly doubt that either your visit or Ducky's was to blame. I would bet that Ziva had been planning this all along. She just had to wait for the opportunity. The best time to try this would have been during the transfer. You and Ducky could both have said you supported her and I think she still would have tried this."

Gibbs and Tony just stared at each other in silence for several seconds. Tony could see the second Jethro realized that Tony was correct. "You're right," Gibbs said. "Now we just need to convince Ducky of the same thing." He started the car. "I'll let you handle that. If you can get through to my stubborn brain, you should be able to make Ducky realize it, too."

"So now we only have to worry about Eli David trying to get revenge."

"Remember, Mahir said Eli has his own troubles. He may not have the time to worry about getting revenge on us." Gibbs had told Tony about his call to his friend in Israel. The strong partnership he and Tony had forged during the last few months extended beyond the office. And since it could have impacted the team, and Tony in particular, Gibbs had kept him apprised of everything that was happening. He'd told Tony about Ziva's journal, his visit to Ziva and the phone call with Mahir.

"Let's hope so." He decided to lighten things up a bit. "Hey, stupid question, but you feel like stopping for coffee on the way back?" Gibbs just laughed

/

**_The Following Monday Morning_**

Gibbs picked up his phone as it rang. "Yeah, Gibbs." He listened for a few seconds, then, "What happened?" Tony looked over at his boss in concern. Gibbs gave a "thanks for the info" to his caller and got up. Tony could actually see that a weight had seemed to lift from his boss's shoulders. "DiNozzo, with me." Tony got up and followed him to the elevator. Once the doors closed, Gibbs flipped the switch to stop it. He stood staring at the panel for a couple of seconds, then turned to Tony.

"That was Mahir. Eli David is dead."

Tony was stunned. "What? When? What happened?"

"Mahir said that Mossad stripped Eli of his directorship and placed him under arrest on Friday. They had confined him to a cell and had guards outside his door. Yesterday, he was informed of Ziva's death. When the guards went into his cell this morning, they found him dead. Suicide."

"Are they sure it was a suicide? Or is that Mossad's cover story?"

"Who knows? Mahir has always been straight with me, so I assume that's what _he_ believes at least. Thoughts are that with his powers stripped and charges pending against him, Ziva's death was just too much for him to bear. Either way, the David family is no longer any threat to us. It's truly over."

"Yeah." Tony smiled, relieved and sad at the same time. "Now what?"

"Now, I go tell Vance this news. He'll probably hear about it soon enough through official channels, but he'll appreciate the advance notice." He started up the elevator car again. "In the meantime, we've got cold cases to work and you have safety presentations to finish."

Gibbs was proud of the time and effort that Tony was putting into this safety project. Just this morning, a memo had gone out agency-wide that any employees that wished to take martial arts classes could do so and the agency would pay half the price. One of Tony's ideas. Tony was also working on getting a discounted rate with home security companies so all NCIS employees could protect their homes. He was also asking for volunteer agents to conduct self-defense classes for professional staff, and cyber techs to help employees protect their home computers. Gibbs had a feeling that once all these ideas had been implemented, it wouldn't be long before other agencies would be offering similar programs to their employees. The other alphabet agencies couldn't let NCIS be the only ones helping their staff, after all. But everyone would know which agency was the first to do it. And it was all Tony's idea.

/

_Military Housing _

The MCRT arrived just seconds after the MPs, the ambulance not far behind. The medics and a female MP headed for a woman who was outside on the front lawn, on her knees, moaning, rocking back and forth, her arms wrapped around her body. Her knees were scraped where she'd fallen as she stumbled down the stairs, screaming hysterically. Neighbors had called the Military Police after hearing her screams and glancing inside the door. No one stepped inside, fearful of what they'd find. The floor inside the door was drenched in blood.

Gibbs directed the other MP's to surround the house and set up containment of the scene, while his team readied to enter the house. Gibbs and Tony entered first, weapons out and up, ready for anything. Or so they thought. As they moved around the blood on the floor, they realized they could see drag marks that led down the hall. Exchanging a look, they continued.

As they got to the living room, they stopped, praying they weren't seeing what was in front of them.

The scene was horrific. Mother, Father and three children, all dead. Slaughtered. Sliced up like so many pieces of meat.

The father, tied to a chair, gagged, the terror on his face obvious even in death. It was clear that he'd been forced to watch as his family was murdered. And judging by the ripped clothing and the injuries, his wife and both of his teenage daughters had also been savagely raped. The mother's arms were around an infant, whose tiny pajamas were covered in blood and slashed at least a dozen times.

"Oh, God." Neither man could tell which of the agents behind them had whispered that phrase, but all of them knew that God had nothing to do with what had happened in this house. This was pure evil.

"Tony," Gibbs managed, his voice catching in his throat. "Check the house."

DiNozzo could only nod, relieved to be able to turn away from the mangled bodies. He pointed to Tim, Melissa and Cooper. Gibbs indicated he would stay behind. One of the MPs was brought in to cover Gibbs. As Tony looked back, Gibbs was carefully making his way to each body, and checking for a pulse, knowing none would be found.

Tony directed Nightwalker and Cooper to check the other rooms on the main level, while he and Tim headed upstairs. They moved from room to room, checking under beds and in closets, not knowing if their suspect was still in the house or if they might find more family members. As they moved toward the last door, DiNozzo thought he heard some movement behind the closed door.

Using hand signals, he was able to tell Tim what they needed to do. Tim crouched low as DiNozzo reached for the doorknob. Tony turned it slowly, making as little noise as possible. Tim moved to see into the room from his vantage point near the floor, shaking his head that he couldn't see anyone. Using his fingers, Tony counted down, then slammed his foot against the door.

Tim went in low, Tony high, moving into the room but to opposite sides of the door. A flash of blue was seen heading into an en-suite bathroom.

"Freeze! NCIS!" DiNozzo ordered as the agents moved after the suspect. The brief glimpse they'd seen was of a large male wearing a blue shirt. The pair quickly moved into position near the bathroom door, but even as they stopped, the man ran out of the room, bloody machete raised in his hand.

Both agents fired, hitting the man in the chest with multiple rounds, two others hitting him in the face and throat. He was dead before he hit the floor. As he fell back, he dropped the machete, the sharp blade clattering to the tile floor. Tim kicked it away, then moved to check the man while Tony kept his own weapon trained on him. He shook his head, indicating that he found no pulse, as he stood and turned back toward the room.

"Tony! Down!" Tim cried as he lifted his gun up and fired off two shots, which would have hit DiNozzo in the chest if he hadn't dropped immediately to the floor. Tony turned over, his own weapon lifting, as he saw another man clutching his chest, gun dropping from his hand to land on the soft carpet.

"Tony! Tim!" Gibbs shouted as he ran down the hall, having been alerted by the first shots.

"We're good, Boss! We're good," Tony called out, sitting up but keeping his weapon trained on the wounded man.

Gibbs, followed by Mel and Darius, entered the room, guns raised. Cooper and Nightwalker secured the man on the floor, who was still alive and in a lot of pain. None of the agents was sympathetic, considering what they'd seen downstairs.

Gibbs holstered his weapon and approached his two agents. He reached DiNozzo first. "Tony, you okay?"

DiNozzo nodded. "Yeah, I'm good. Thanks to Tim," he said with a grin. Turning to look at his partner, the grin fell from his face as he noticed Tim was holding his right bicep, blood seeping out between his fingers.

"Tim!" He jumped to his feet and made his way to the younger agent's side, Gibbs right behind him.

"I'm fine," he assured them both. "It is a minor wound."

"We'll let the medics be the ones to make that diagnosis," Gibbs said as he gently took McGee's arm in his hand, pulling his fingers away from the wound. "Mel, call the medics!"

"Already on the way up," Nightwalker advised him. "This guy took a shot to the chest, one in the shoulder."

Medics crowded into the room, two heading toward the man on the floor and two others headed toward the bathroom where Tim and the second suspect were.

As one moved to check the man on the floor, DiNozzo remarked. "He's dead, my partner is the one who needs your help."

"I'm fine," Tim insisted, as the other paramedic began to check his injury.

"Sounds like you, DiNozzo," Gibbs remarked as he stepped back to make room.

"I'm not sure if that's an insult or a compliment, Boss," Tony replied with a grin.

"I am fine. I do not need to go to the hospital!" Tim was telling the paramedic.

"You need stitches, sir," he replied.

He frowned, "It's 'agent', not 'sir'."

"Well, Agent then, you still need stitches."

"I do not need..."

"Tim, just go," Gibbs said. "Get stitched up, then you can come back. We're gonna be here awhile." He then turned back to the other pair of medics. "How is he?" he asked.

"Touch and go," one replied. "He's lost a lot of blood."

Gibbs nodded. "Nightwalker, go in with them. See what you can get out of him on the way. Stay with him until I can get a guard over there."

Mel just nodded in reply as she prepared to follow the gurney out the door.

"Gibbs, I really don't need to go to the hospital," Tim insisted. Before Jethro could reply, Tony stepped up next to him.

"Tim, you need to get that looked at, get stitches." He looked at the junior agent, the concern obvious on his face. "You saved my life. Thank you."

"Just doing what a partner does, right? What I should have done the last time-watch your six and be good back-up."

Tony smiled and looked at Gibbs. "By George, I think he's got it!" The head slap didn't even phase him.

"You did good, Elf Lord," Gibbs told him. "Now get out of here. Call me when the doctors are finished with you."

"Yes, Gibbs," he replied, smiling at the familiar nickname that his boss hadn't used in quite a while.

Gibbs approached the other pair of paramedics, who were loading the suspect onto a stretcher. "This man is in custody. My agent will be riding in with you."

"He won't be giving you much," the medic said. "He'll be lucky to make it to the hospital."

Gibbs nodded. "See if you can get an ID on him," he instructed Mel, who nodded as she walked out behind the gurney, Tim and the other paramedics following. "Coop, see about identifying the other one," he said, pointing toward the dead man in the bathroom.

"I'll go down and help the MPs," Tony said. "Ducky and Palmer should be here by now."

Gibbs nodded, but as Tony walked away he called him back. Although he didn't say anything, Tony knew what he was asking. "We're good, Boss. He did what he needed to do. I never heard that guy coming up behind me. Tim yelled at me to drop, I dropped."

"You trusted him."

"Yeah, I did." He smiled and turned around, walking out the door. Gibbs watched him leave, a smile on his face, relieved that finally it seemed like his team was back on track. They may be down a member once Darius and Mel left for their own teams, but what team remained seemed tighter than ever. In an odd way, this whole ordeal may have been a good thing for Team Gibbs. It may have been the wake-up call all of them needed.

"Anything, Coop?" he asked, as he joined his agent and the two started processing the second scene.


	12. Epilogue

"I'll miss working with you, Coop," Tim said, as his trainer of the last few months began packing a bag with the personal items he'd collected since he joined Gibbs' team. He had finally been assigned to a team, one which would begin working together the next week. Mel would be leaving the MCRT later in the month to join her new team as well. Both of the new teams would be stationed at the Navy Yard, in a newly renovated office down the hall.

"I'm glad you decided to stick it out, Tim."

He sighed and sat on the edge of his desk. "It was difficult at first, I'll admit. I had formed an image of Tony and kind of got it stuck in my head. I've seen a different side of him since I got back to the team."

"He's a damn good agent," Darius replied. "I've learned a lot from him."

"Yes...yes he is," Tim said, surprising himself in that he truly believed that. "Sometimes I miss the...other Tony...but this one...I see now why Gibbs keeps him on his team. And I'm thankful I'm still a part of it."

"Just make sure you don't forget," Cooper said, holding out his hand. The two men shook.

"I won't, believe me. I'm not going to blow my second chance."

"Darius! Glad I caught you," Tony said as he joined the two men. "Do either of you have plans tonight?"

"Nothing I can't change with a quick call to the wife," Cooper said. Tim shook his head no.

"Good, good. Everyone is meeting at Venegoni's in an hour. My treat. Darius, when you call your wife, invite her along."

"What's the occasion?" Cooper asked.

"Just a last meal together as an expanded team," Tony said, shrugging.

"Sounds good to me."

Tim nodded. "It has been a long time since we've been to Venegoni's as a team," he commented.

"It's been a long time since it felt like we've been a team," Tony remarked.

"And now?" Tim asked.

"Now, I know that I have teammates who will have my six. And they know that I'll have their's."

"I've always known that, Tony," Tim admitted. "I'm the one that didn't do my job. And I promise that it will not ever happen again."

"That's all I need to know," Tony told him. "So, Italian food, here we come!" he declared, rubbing his hands together, as the rest of the team, plus Abby, Ducky and Palmer joined them. DiNozzo herded them all into the elevator. Gibbs met them in the garage and the friends all headed off.


End file.
